The Shadows Arc
by Midnight Fearie
Summary: A year has passed since the defeat of Chaos and the Scouts are living normal lives. That is until two new Scouts appear and plead for their help. As Shadows arise and secrets are unearthed, will the Scouts be able to survive? Full summary in Intro!
1. Prologue

**Sailor Moon: Shadowed Secrets**

**Prologue**

**Disclaimer: First time to say it, I don't own it!**

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**Summary: A year has passed since the defeat of Chaos, and life for the Sol Senshi has finally returned to normal. Or that's what the Senshi think, until two new lights appear. Two new Senshi from a far away planet who seek their help. Their help, and the help of the Starlights. As the final battle approaches and the Shadows arise, secrets are unearthed. Secrets that threaten to destroy the Senshi from the inside out. Tensions rise, and Serena is forced to make a decision that will not only affect her, but the present and the future of Crystal Tokyo. Serena must decide what her heart is telling her, and if she should listen to it. But if she does…could it be the end of the Universe?**

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**Jazz: None of us could really think of what to say, so I'm just gonna say, hope you all enjoy the intro! Tell us what you think! BTW, never seen Sailor Stars, so this is all gonna be from information gather online and other fan fictions.**

**And ****Happy Birthday, Sailor Neptune!**

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A tall woman with long dark green hair and crimson eyes stood before two large silver gates, the Garnet Orb held firmly in her hands. Her gaze was attentive, her mouth set in a firm line. Her face was impassive as she stared at the massive Time Gates before her. A strong wind blew her hair about her, and she winced at the power of the breeze. The fog around her intensified, clouding her vision of the Gates. She kept her eyes pointed where she knew they still were anyway. With a loud groan, the Time Gates slowly opened. She tightened her grip on her Garnet Rod, her knuckles white. She narrowed her eyes as the Gates opened, but suppressed a gasp when she saw who stood before her.

For one thing, the woman was very beautiful. She had golden blonde hair that reached her calves. Her eyes were a lovely shade of cerulean blue, even despite the fact they were wide with fear. Her dress flowed to the concealed ground and was white. Around her chest were golden rings, and on her back were two medium sized wings. But there was definitely something wrong with the woman.

Her golden blonde hair was stained red in some spots with blood, and in others it was stained by dirt. It was also disheveled, falling out from the two Odango shaped buns atop her head. There was a cut across her right cheek, and her eyes were red and puffy from crying. Her lips were swollen, cut, and bloodied. Her dress was spotted with blood and torn in some places, but especially around her thighs. Through the holes, numerous bruises could be seen. Some were fresh and still bleeding, while others were old and covered in dried blood. Her skin was blotched and covered in cuts and bruises all over. The wings on her back were tattered and torn, and also covered in blood. Tears flowed freely down from her cheeks and left small trails on her face.

"My Queen, what has happened?" Sailor Pluto asked, rushing to her Queen's side. Serenity choked back a sob.

"Pluto, quickly! The Time Gates must be closed, or else-" But the Queen's warning was cut off when black clouds of Shadows flowed through the Space-Time Doors. Pluto raised her Garnet Rod.

"Dead Scream!" She shouted out, sending the Shadows crawling back into the Gates. She raised her Rod high and pointed the Orb at the Time Gates.

_"Great guardian deity of time and space! My father Chronos! Give me power! Close the door of the broken law! Dark Dome Close!" _The Senshi of Revolution called out, and the doors of the Time Gates quickly closed.

"Oh, Sailor Pluto, thank you so much!" Neo-Queen Serenity cried, before she quickly wrapped her arms around the Senshi of Time and Space, crying into her shoulder. Sailor Pluto wrapped her arms around her Queen as Serenity cried, releasing her pent up sorrows.

"My Queen…what has happened to you?" Sailor Pluto asked, and Serenity took a shaky breath before releasing her long time friend.

"The Future…Crystal Tokyo…" Serenity began, before breaking down into more sobs. Pluto continued to comfort her Queen.

"Please…Serenity, you must tell me what has happened." The tall Senshi insisted, and Serenity nodded.

"Shadows have engulfed our world…Rini, oh my poor Rini…she is locked within her room. Barely eating everyday. The other Senshi have tried coming to you Pluto, but he found them, and locked them away…"

Pluto's eyes widened at the sound of something happening to Small Lady, but now was not the time to be concentrating on that. She had to get to the bottom of all of this.

"Serenity…who is _he_?" Pluto asked, and almost regretted her question a moment later. Serenity burst into more tears, and struggled to keep her composure to answer Pluto's question.

"Endymion…he has betrayed us. He has brought the Shadows to our world, and they are destroying Crystal Tokyo." The Queen confessed. Pluto's eyes widened.

"Queen Serenity…are you certain it was Endymion?" Pluto's voice was barely above a whisper. Before, the King and Queen had fought along-side each other. Now, the King was trying to _kill_ his Queen and his kingdom.

"Pluto, I have seen it with my own eyes. He has called upon their power, as if he was _their _King. Uranus…oh, Pluto, its terrible!" Serenity avoided the Senshi of Time's gaze, fearful Pluto would shun her for her weakness. How wrong she was.

"Serenity, what has happened to Uranus? To all the Senshi? What has happened to Small Lady?" Pluto placed a hand on her Queen's shoulder, and Serenity turned to her, tears pooling in her eyes.

"Uranus…she tried to escape. To come to you. To get help. But Endymion caught her, and the Shadows attacked her. She couldn't even stand by the time they were done with her. She's been locked in the dungeon ever since. Neptune…Neptune tried to save her, but she was also attacked. She couldn't move when the Shadows left her alone, and she was locked in another cell. Saturn tried to do something to save Rini, but they caught her, and chained her. A guard is always at her door, and if she tried to escape, she loses a limb. She's already lost her left arm and leg." Serenity broke into more tears, while Pluto looked at her. She was horrified, how could Endymion be so cruel?

"Serenity, My Queen…I know it is hard, but please, you must tell me what has happened to the Inner Senshi and Small Lady." Pluto insisted. Serenity choked back a sob and nodded.

"Mercury…oh, Amy…she found a way out. She was going to come to you, get your help, but Endymion found her right before she left. He dragged her to a dungeon, tortured her…beat her…and the Shadow humanoids…they _raped_ her. We…we could hear her screaming at night, wailing…and Endymion got tired of it. Right in front of us, he…decapitated her. In their grief, Mars, Venus, and Jupiter attacked him. Jupiter went for a direct hit, and…his sword…pierced her heart. She fell down dead. He…had mercy on Mars and Venus, and locked them in the dungeon cells like Uranus and Neptune." Pluto hugged her Queen as she cried again.

"What of Small Lady?" She murmured, biting her lower lip. Serenity hung her head.

"Rini…she tried to confront her father, beg him to stop…she said she wasn't afraid of him, and he struck her. She cried and he got infuriated with the sound and took his sword to her throat. I begged him…pleaded with him…and he finally listened. She was locked inside her chambers ever since that day, her only company a chained Luna P. I…I can't free her. Oh Pluto, you must help her!" Serenity begged, tightening her arms around her Senshi. Sailor Pluto felt tears run down her own cheeks as she comfortingly patted her Queen's back.

Both women tensed as they heard the recognizable groan of the Time Gates as they slowly creaked open. Pluto released her Queen and jumped before her, guarding her from whatever may be entering the Fourth Dimension. Serenity wiped away her tears and looked around her Senshi as a new figure quickly entered the Corridor of Space-Time.

The person was obviously a woman by her curved figure. And as she came into the light more, it was evident how beautiful she was. The woman was tall, with flowing ebony black hair that trailed behind her across the concealed ground. Her eyes were gentle coffee brown and her skin was a smooth olive brown. She wore a snow white gown, adorned with small pearls and golden lace. Around her neck was a golden chain, and on its end, was a small black sun with fifteen rays surrounding it. In the center of the sun was a faintly glowing moon, its light just near dimmed. Pluto bowed before the woman.

"Queen Sahara." She said, and the woman, Sahara, nodded once.

"Sailor Pluto, I have come because I sense trouble in the kingdom of the once Moon Princess." Sahara explained, her voice was musical, like church bells and chimes on Christmas morning. Neo-Queen Serenity suddenly felt somewhat intimidated by the Queen before her.

"Yes, this is the once Princess of the Moon Kingdom, Neo-Queen Serenity of Crystal Tokyo, future Queen of Earth." Pluto introduced, standing to the side and moved her arm in a sweeping gesture towards said Queen. Serenity nodded respectively and Sahara did the same.

"Neo-Queen Serenity, I can tell from your light, and your appearance, that you do not fair well." Sahara said, nearing the Queen of Earth, who looked at her strangely.

"My light?" She asked, and Sahara nodded, her hand reaching to grab the sun around her neck, and she caressed it, looking into Serenity's cerulean eyes.

"Yes. As the Divine Queen, I am connected deeply to the Moon Kingdom, especially their Queen. The moon on this necklace…it represents the light of your soul. Your hope, your happiness…the light here once shown so bright, one would think it would blind me. But as of late, the light has dimmed, and I feared the moon would soon be turning black." Sahara went on. Serenity looked at Pluto, but the Senshi of Revolution gave her no hints as to how she was feeling.

"What would happen should the moon turn black?" Serenity inquired, holding her right hand to her chest.

"If the moon turns black, that means the current royal has died." Sahara told the Queen, who looked horrified.

"So…it was dimming, which means…" Serenity began.

"That I believed you were dying." Sahara clarified.

"But…I wasn't…I'm not…" Serenity seemed unable to find the correct words. Sahara shook her head.

"Your kingdom was dying, Serenity. And I feared that if your kingdom was destroyed, you would die with it." Sahara explained.

"Is that possible?" Pluto asked. Sahara turned to her and nodded.

"If Crystal Tokyo is destroyed by the evil plaguing it, then Queen Serenity will die with her kingdom, and her people." Pluto's eyes widened at Sahara's statement.

"Neo-Queen Serenity, what is it that plagues your people?" Sahara asked, placing a hand on the other Queen's shoulder. Tears pooled in Serenity's eyes again.

"Shadows. I don't know where they come from, but they are shadows. Thousands of them. Endymion…he leads them. I don't know why…" Serenity's voice grew soft as the tears flowed silently down her scarred cheeks.

"The Shadows. I feared as much…" Sahara whispered, and she hugged Serenity. The surprised Queen embraced Sahara back and cried into her shoulder, inhaling the scent of jasmine and honey. Sahara ran her hair through the girls muddled blonde hair.

"Queen Sahara…what are the Shadows?" Pluto asked, feeling a small pang of guilt inside of her for interrupting the moment between the two Queens. Serenity barely remembered her mother, Queen Serenity of the first Silver Millennium, and hadn't had a relationship with another woman that was like a mother to her besides Ikuko. Sahara was a born mother, with a gentle nature and a kind heart. She loved her own daughter very much, and had been very close to the first Queen Serenity.

"The Shadows…we currently battle them in the past. In our present. They are ruthless beings with a strong blood lust that cannot be quenched. And they have returned." Sahara replied, soothing the sobbing Princess in her arms.

"Again?" Serenity asked through her sobs. Pluto closed her mouth, prepared to ask the same question. Sahara nodded.

"Yes, again. During the time of the first Silver Millennium, your mother, Queen Serenity and I fought against the Shadows. They were powerful back then, but with our combined magic, we sealed it within the Dark Crystal and sent it to be safe on the Moon Kingdom. Before Queen Serenity had the time to recover, the Negaverse attacked. After the destruction of the Moon Kingdom, the Dark Crystal drifted into space until it was recently found by the one known as Chaos. When your past self, Eternal Sailor Moon, destroyed Chaos, they crystal was destroyed as well. When it was destroyed, the seal was broken, and using his dark power, the Shadow Prince gave the Shadow Crystal its power again, and so the Shadow's have risen up once more, more powerful." Sahara explained. Serenity choked back a horrified sob.

"The Shadows…what have they done to King Endymion?" Serenity asked, her sobs turning into small hiccups. Sahara sighed.

"King Endymion has the blood of the Shadows flowing through his veins. He can control them, and they control him just as easily. Your King has allowed the darkness to overtake his soul." The Divine Queen said. Serenity began to weep again.

"Sahara…how to we defeat them?" Serenity asked. Sahara sighed again, knowing the poor Queen would want to defeat the evil over taking her husband and save his soul.

"They must be defeated now, in our time. The present. So that they are not as powerful in the future, Queen Serenity, your present. But your husband…King Endymion…the Shadows control him. They have control over his soul. There's nothing anyone can do for him, he is forever lost to the Shadows." Sahara confessed, and Serenity's tears flowed anew.

"How will you defeat the Shadows then, Queen Sahara?" Sailor Pluto asked, and Sahara shook her head as she released the weeping Queen of Earth.

"I do not plan to defeat the Shadows." Sahara replied simply, and Serenity looked at her with wide eyes.

"But…why?" She asked. She had heard of the Divine Queen, Queen of the Universe. She was also the most powerful.

"Because, it is not me who should. I released my daughter and her Senshi from their deep sleep to be with the present incarnation of Princess Serenity for a reason. She and Neo-Queen Serenity's past self are the hope of the Universe." Sahara's voice was suddenly ominous.

"But what of Serenity? And her Senshi? Of Small Lady? They will die if they continue to live with Endymion!" Pluto objected. Sahara looked at her with a firm gaze.

"They will have to. The fate of the Universe may depend on it that no one in the Crystal Palace knows of the meeting today here with me or Sailor Pluto. Or of anything we have discussed." Sahara explained.

"What if we all die?" Serenity demanded. Sahara shook her head.

"No, he won't kill you. Not all of you. Wait for at least a years time, and if you must, send your daughter into the past. Sailor Pluto, have her keep the Key of Space-Time. If at that point, and I'm more than certain they will be, if the Shadows are still here, only then can you send her back to the safety of the past." Sahara advised.

"Are you sure the Shadows will come here, Queen Sahara? We have only just defeated Chaos…" Pluto's voice trailed off, and Sahara nodded.

"I know, Sailor Pluto, and I'm sorry to have to bare you such unpleasant news so soon into your peaceful lives. But please, have faith in me and my daughter." Sahara murmured. Queen Serenity and Pluto nodded. Sahara smiled sadly at them.

"Queen Sahara…should I tell the other Sol Senshi?" Pluto asked, tightening her grip on the Garnet Orb. Again, Sahara shook her head.

"No, no one else but the three of us here need to know of this meeting or anything we have discussed at this juncture." Sahara said.

"Then…why have I been unaware of all of this?" Pluto's voice was laced with guilt. How could she not know? It was her job as the Senshi of Time and Space to know such things about the safety of the Universe, but she had no idea of the dangers in the future.

"The Time Gates can be influenced, Sailor Pluto. Do not blame yourself for being oblivious to the Shadow War. The Time Gates have been enchanted so that you could not see the dangers, whether they be in the past or present. Just be vigilant, I will do all I can do lift the curse. And Sailor Pluto…please, for the sake of the present and future of the Universe...be safe." With that, she turned to the Time Gates and Pluto willed them to open.

"Queen Sahara, one moment please!" Neo-Queen Serenity called. Queen Sahara glanced over her shoulder at the blonde Queen of Crystal Tokyo.

"Queen Sahara…why will you not fight the Shadows?" She asked. Sahara smiled gently.

"I fully intend to fight, but I will not win." And with that, she disappeared into the mist and the Time Gates closed behind her.

"She does not intend to win?" Serenity asked, not really to anyone in particular. Her voice reflected the near hopelessness she felt inside of her.

Her Senshi were either dead, dismembered, or being held in dungeon cells. They'd been beaten, raped, abused…and there was nothing she could do about it. None of them had eaten and were growing weaker with each day. Small Lady…Rini…she was just barely surviving. She was being deprived of feed, and of company. The poor girl was slowly spiraling into insanity. Just like her father…but King Endymion was not going insane. He _was _insane. The man had gone completely gone mad, into a space within his mind where no one, not even the woman who loved him, could reach him. And she…she was going to go mad because she couldn't do anything to stop all that was going on around her. Her friends were dying, and she was being abused by her own husband…and there was nothing she could do. She hung her head as tears stung at her eyes again.

She was shocked. After all the crying she'd done in the past few days…after all the crying she'd done just in the past hour…she didn't think she had any more tears left to cry. She looked up as Pluto help out a fist to her. She unclenched her fingers. In the palm of the taller Senshi's hand was a small golden and pink key on a thin chain.

"Take this back to the Crystal Palace. In one years time, if the Shadows are still attacking, give the Space-Time Key to Small Lady and send her back to us in the past. Until then, Neo-Queen Serenity, please be safe." With that, Sailor Pluto hugged Serenity and opened the Time Gates. Serenity nodded, tears and her eyes, and re-entered her world. Her living hell, filled with misery and anguish.

Sailor Pluto let her own tears flow silently as she watched the Time Gates close behind the Queen of Earth. She felt her heart lurch with fear. Her Universe, the peaceful world she and the other Solar System Senshi had worked so hard to get and maintain was slowly crumbling before her eyes, and she felt useless. She couldn't do anything. Not for one year.

"Father Chronos, be with me, guide me…" She prayed, closing her eyes as the tears flowed down her cheeks. The mist intensified around her until it was suffocating.

_It is time to return to Earth_…Pluto thought. She turned silently and walked into the mist. The fog surrounded her in its gentle touch and the Senshi of Time and Space slowly disappeared, fading into the darkness.

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**Layla: The prologue!**

**Aqua: How was it? Yes? No? Continue? End it? Delete this because you hate it so much?**

**Kelsey: Positive thinking, Aqua. Very positive thinking…**

**Emma: Yeah, the negative thinking is my job!**

**Jazz: Doesn't matter who does the positive or negative thinking! Just, help me…should I? Should I not? Tell me what you think! R&R!**


	2. Shadow and Light

**Sailor Moon: Shadowed Secrets**

**Chapter 1: Shadows and Light**

**Disclaimer: No own Sailor Moon. Got it? Get it? Good.**

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**Aqua: Woot! Sailor Moon, baby!**

**Kelsey: That's right, here we are, writing for our, right now, favorite anime!**

**Layla: No, this isn't a one time thing. Even if FUNimation does not re-dub Sailor Moon, it'll never die.**

**Jazz: I agree with Layla on that point. If you have any questions about what we're talking about, leave it in a review or message us!**

**Layla: And if you know what we're talking about and wanna hear some good news, or if you live in Europe and want to help, please, check out .com! Please! This is very important! Especially if you live in Europe!**

**Emma: Anyways, we already did the 'We don't own this' crap, but there's another very important point we should point out…we've never watched Sailor Stars. Sorry, but we're not people who like subs.**

**Jazz: To Forbidden Faerie, dubs are awesome!**

**Emma: So, yeah. If you think this is totally wrong, tell us now, message us. We'll delete this or change it so that it complies more with the story.**

**Aqua: And we certainly don't plan on watching Sailor Stars unless it is, finally, dubbed!**

**Kelsey: Anyways, I suppose we've said enough! Enjoy the new story!**

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"Shine Evolution!" A girl shouted, pointing her golden glaive at the nearing army of darkness, effectively destroying much of the forces coming at them.

The dark Shadows fell, disappearing in the beam of light. The girl smiled in satisfaction at the sight. Small black clumps were all that remained of the monsters. The clumps began to quiver and grow. They stood tall, red eyes peering out from the darkness. Dark power came off of them in waves. The girl growled in frustration, steadying her stance in a defense position, ready to take on the next onslaught of attacks.

Her face was marred with scratches and scraps. Blood oozed from a gash on her right arm, and she limped slightly on her left leg. One of her eyes was a bit swollen and blood dripped from her lower lip. Her Sailor Fuku was torn at her abdomen and blood flowed from her apparently fresh open wound. Her breath came out in short, uneven pants. And this next attack had just begun.

"It's no use, there are too many of them!" Another girl shouted out to her. Her wounds were a bit more serious. Her right eye was swollen and the flesh around it was a purple, black tint. Her left arm was twisted some and she held it at an awkward angle. Blood oozed from the large open gash on her right leg. Her hair was mattered and knotted. It was stained with blood and dirt. Her lip was cut in multiple places, and the blood flowed down to her chin. Her Fuku was torn around her abdomen and was barely hanging by a strap on her right shoulder. One of her heels was broken, making it even more awkward for her to run. Her skirt was torn in many different places. But she ignored her pain, now was not the time to focus on that. The first girl turned towards her.

"We can't just back out now! We have to keep fighting!" She snapped, turning back to face her opponents again, pointing her glaive straight at the center of the army.

"Celestia, stop! More will just rise!" The second girl shouted to her dark skinned companion who snapped her head in her direction, a fierce determination glowing in her eyes.

"Then I'll die fighting here!" The first girl, known as Sailor Celestia, cried.

"What good would that do? I have a duty to you as my princess, and I need to keep you safe!" The second girl shouted out, and Celestia froze.

"I'm so sorry, Eclipse. But what else are we supposed to do?" Sailor Celestia replied, lowering her weapon. Over her shoulder, another enemy prepared to attack.

"Celestia, look out!" Sailor Eclipse shouted, using her own body to knock her friend and princess out of the way. She raised her one good hand high over her head at the looming enemy. "Diamond Siege!"

Shards of diamonds sprouted from her hand and rapidly rushed at the shadowed enemy, who screamed in pain as the shards pierced it. The shadow fell, leaving small bits of debris around it. From the remains of the shadow demon came five more monsters, smaller, yet still powerful. Sailor Eclipse narrowed her eyes.

"Guys, we've gotta get you outta here!" A new voice called out. The two Sailor Senshi turned and looked at the new comer. Her blonde hair was falling loose everywhere, mostly freed from its ponytail. Her bangs clung to her forehead from the sweat pouring down her face. A long cut stretched from the corner of her eye, across her cheek, and to her upper lip. Blood poured down her face, the warm red liquid covering the many cuts and bruises across her face. One of her wrists were bent at an awkward angle, her Fuku stained with blood and dirt, soaked with her own sweat. Black bits of Shadow clumps clutched her skin, some covered red in her own blood.

"What are you talking about, Comet? We can't just leave you guys!" Celestia insisted.

"You have to! Me, Titania, and Pandora will escort you to a safe place. Come on!" Sailor Comet shouted, grabbing her princess' hand before turning and running off. Eclipse made a move to follow before she turned back to the approaching shadows.

"Aura Blizzard!" She shouted out, unleashing the blizzard attack at the shadows, not only freezing the enemies closest to the palace entrance, but also blocking their view of the senshi's escape. And hopefully buying them some time.

"Eclipse, come on!" A voice called. Sailor Eclipse turned and looked at her companion.

"Coming!" She shouted back, running after her black haired friend, Soon she caught up so they were running side by side, neither ready to stop for fear of what would happen to them. Eventually, they saw three other senshi and slowed to a stop, quickly gasping for air to catch their breath.

"Good, Sailor Pandora, you found Eclipse, and Comet got Celestia." Another black haired Sailor commented, hands on her hips as she surveyed the group. Her own Fuku was torn and splotched red with her blood. Her hair was knotted and splattered with her own blood. Her whole body was covered with bruises and cuts, blood still flowing from the injuries. Blood dripped from her lip and down her chin, staining her Fuku and the floor below her.

"Where are the rest?" Sailor Celestia asked, turning to her long time friend, who frowned back.

"We have already sent them away, but we are not sure where they are now, Princess." The sailor senshi replied.

"Titania, what are you planning on doing?" Sailor Eclipse asked, suddenly acknowledging the fact her blizzard wouldn't keep the shadows at bay for long. Nor would Pandora's golden protection.

"You, Eclipse, will take our Princess to the Milky Way Galaxy. And then to Earth." Sailor Titania replied, hands on her hips. Celestia narrowed her eyes at her Sailor guardian.

"Why there?" She demanded, and Titania turned back to her princess with a sigh.

"I know how you feel about them, Princess Celestia, but we need the help of Sailor Moon. She has defeated Chaos, surely she can help us now." Titania pleaded.

"Yes, Celestia, we need the help of the Moon Princess. And her Soldiers. They can save our world, please, at least give them a chance." Pandora begged.

"I agree with Celestia. How can we be sure they can be trusted?" Eclipse asked, stepping to the side of her Princess.

"They have defeated the Negaverse, the Dark Moon, the Dead Moon Circus, and Chaos. They are powerful enough to help us. With their assistance, I'm sure we can destory the evil that plagues us." Comet pointed out. Celestia rolled her eyes.

"Perhaps they are right, Princess." Eclipse whispered. Celestia turned to her closest friend, anger glazing in her coffee brown eyes.

"What?" She hissed, glaring at her.

"Celestia, without their help, all of our people could die! _We _could die! And we can not afford to lose you, Princess!" Eclipse replied, concern flooding her eyes. She loved her princess, but at times, the girl could be difficult.

"But Eclipse-"

"No buts, Celestia! We _will _get help from the Moon Princess and her Senshi." Eclipse declared, and Celestia closed her mouth before nodding.

"I'm glad that's settled." Pandora said, smiling.

"If Eclipse and I are to seek help from the Moon Princess and her guarians, what are you three to do?" Celestia asked, turning back to her Senshi.

"We are going to seek help from other Senshi." Titania replied. Celestia arched a brow.

"And where are you to find these new Senshi?" She asked.

"From the planet, Kinmoku. That is where the Sailor Starlights are, and we're certain they can also be a great help." Pandora said, stepping up. Pandora's injuries were much less severe than everyone else's. Her skin was just covered in multiple cuts and bruises, blood oozing a bit here and there. The worst injury would be her swollen and bleeding lips.

"Are you sure this mission is safe?" Celestia asked, worry flashing in her eyes. She had no family left, seeing as her mother had died when the attacks began. All she had left were her guardians, and they were each like a sister to her. They made her feel less alone in the world. If she knew her sisters were in danger, she'd never allow them to leave her side. It would tear her apart to know she may never see her Senshi again.

"I can't guarantee anything, Princess. But we will promise you we'll sooner sacrifice ourselves for your safety." Titania replied, embracing her princess, who hugged her back.

"Please, my Senshi, be safe." Celestia whispered. She moved on to hug Pandora, then Comet. She took her side by Eclipse, and the two gave the other Senshi a small smile.

"We'll be reunited soon, Princess. I promise." Pandora said softly, as she faded into a green light.

"Don't forget us." Comet whispered as she was absorbed by a teal colored beam.

"Be safe." Titania murmured as she was engulfed in a purple light. Celestia and Eclipse watched as the three Senshi took to the skies, flying through the heavens and their lights slowly disappearing behind their trails. Eclipse turned to her Princess again, a small smile on her face.

"Let us go now, Princess, before the enemy is upon us again." Sailor Eclipse advised, watching her Princess as she stared after her Senshi. Slowly, Celestia turned her gaze toward her leader of her Senshi before offering a gentle smile.

"Yes, lets." She replied. Sailor Eclipse was engulfed in a bright, blue beam of light that came from the sky. Celestia let the warmth from inside of her body out, creating a red beam that took her to the sky, and away from the dark forces destroying her world. Celestia glanced back once.

The beautiful golden yellow planet seemed to dim as Pandora's golden protection barrier faded away, and the Shadows seemed to grow. They moved and shifted, slowly engulfing the planet. The darkness overtook the glowing light that was Thalia, dimming it. All that remained of the planet, all that could be seen were the trembling Shadows, with thousands of narrowed crimson red eyes glared at them. Tears gathered in Celestia's eyes and she felt one leak down, leaving a trail down her cheek. She closed her eyes and turned so she looked straight ahead once more, into the infinite depths of space. More tears flowed down her cheeks as she remembered the beautiful planet she'd known her whole life.

_I will save you, I promise… _

**-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-**

"Oh my gosh, I'm late again!" Serena Tsukino shouted out to no one in particular as she hurriedly stuffed her breakfast into her mouth and slipped on her shoes, running out of her small home. Her mother, Ikuko Tsukino, shook her head at her eldest child's antics.

"I really would've thought once she came to high school, she would've become more responsible. I guess I was wrong…" The blue haired woman shook her head in disappointment again and sighed.

"Serena's never gonna be responsible, Mom. I learned that years ago…" Sammy replied, eating his breakfast with a look of pure boredom on his face. He had at least another twenty minutes before it was time for him to leave, and he was almost done eating. His father, Kenji, nodded in agreement. Ikuko sighed once more before grabbing a broom to sweep the floor.

**O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O**

"Ugh, I bant e wate! Wile net wenenteon!*" The blonde haired girl mumbled through her mouth full of food. Despite her incredible speed, she was certain she'd be unable to get to school on time. She dodged person after person, trying not to run into anything, or anyone.

It seemed so long since she'd last been able to do this. Being late was something Serena Tsukino used to always do. That was, until she learned she was the legendary Sailor Scouts, Sailor Moon, defender of love and justice. Ever since then, a regular life had been the farthest thing from her mind. She had tried to live a normal life, but that was hard when it seemed that every other day you were fighting another creature trying to steal something from innocent people, whether it be their energy, their heart crystals, their beautiful dreams, or their star seeds. It had become the life Serena was used to, and it was different living…normally again.

One year ago, Serena had faced off against the powerful Sailor Galaxia, and defeated her. Along the way, she'd lost many friends. But in the end, they'd all been reunited, much to Serena's joy. Her friends were her family, and her guardians. They meant the world to her, and losing them was like ripping out her soul. Even if she did have her birth family and Molly, nothing could compare to the relationship she felt with the other Sailor Scouts. After the battle, their new found friends, the Sailor Starlights of Kinmoku had returned to their home planet with their princess, Kakyuu.

It was hard losing such good friends for Serena. She felt she'd grown close to the Starlights, but more so to their leader, Sailor Star Fighter, also known as Seiya Kou. Serena felt herself lips tugging up in a small smile at the thought of the arrogant Starlight. Even though Darien had left her, she'd never really felt but so much alone with her friends around. And that was one of the things she liked about Seiya. He'd always been able to make her feel better, especially when she was upset about Darien's absence. The smile on the young girl's face was quickly replaced with a small frown as she remembered the reason why her fiancé had been unable to contact her.

Her smile quickly reappeared on her face as she thought of Darien. They had been together for a long time, or at least longer than most couples. In this lifetime and in the last the two had been together, as Princess Serenity and Prince Endymion, and as just plain Serena and Darien. She found herself humming as she imagined the wedding they'd be having soon. Four more months, actually. Four more, and she and Darien would finally be together forever. And in time, they'd grow to rule Crystal Tokyo, and have a lovely daughter named Small Lady Serenity…or Rini. Serena did find it weird to know what her future held and what her life would soon be like, it was…restricting, in a way. As if she couldn't make her own decisions, because she already knew what she was destined to do. Tied to a destiny by the strings of fate.

It was nice to know that with the evil gone, things were going back to normal with all of the Senshi. The Outers, save Hotaru, had graduated, and we still living happy lives in their house on the outskirts of the city. Hotaru was now in junior high with Sammy, who was one year ahead of her. Michelle was beginning her violin career, playing a small community concert every now and then, and Amara was making more of a habit from her racing every weekend or so. Trista was working at a local hospital as a nurse. Raye and Mina decided to pursue their dreams of singing together, often doing duets and sometimes singing at Michelle's violin concerts. Raye wrote their music, and Mina had mentioned something about submitting some of Raye's work to a really famous band. Of course they Inners all had school, though. Lita had gotten a job at the Fruits Parlor Crown with Elizabeth, but Lita worked more as an assisting cook. Amy was an intern at the hospital her mother and Trista worked at.

Serena felt herself get lost in her thoughts. It had always kind of happened to her, but even more so in the past year. It was as if ever since then, she'd grown up more. And she honestly thought she had. Losing her Starlight friends made her think more and more about how life as she'd known it was disappearing, and how much closer she was getting to her new life. As Neo-Queen Serenity, Queen of Earth and residing in the newly born Crystal Tokyo, the resurrected Silver Millennium. It all seemed to be happening so fast.

And honestly, it was. She would be a married woman at seventeen in less than five months. Who knew how long after that she still had as Serena Tsukino, or Serena Shields, before she became Neo-Queen Serenity. Who knew how much more time before she became a mother. Or how much time there was to prepare for the unknown disaster that would befall Earth that she'd have to save the world from. Losing the Starlights had showed her just how quickly all of that would be coming. First it was them, and soon, she'd probably also soon lose her family. Then Molly and Melvin. And all she'd have left would be her Senshi.

Not that she didn't love them. She really did, she couldn't imagine her life without the others. She just wondered if she was ready for the responsibility.

Serena was interrupted from her thoughts when she heard a car nearing the sidewalk she was walking on. She smiled when the saw the passengers.

"Hey, Kitten! Need a ride?" The driver asked. It was Serena's long time friend and an Outer Scout, Amara, also known as Sailor Uranus. She had short, sandy blonde hair and green eyes. Serena nodded, a grateful smile on her face.

"Yes! Thank you so much, Amara!" Serena replied, getting into the backseat of the red Ferrari 512M that her friend was driving.

"Good morning, Serena." The aqua haired woman in the passenger seat said, turning her head slightly to the left to give her friend a smile. Serena returned the smile with a nod. Michelle Kaioh was one the of the most graceful, and beautiful, people she knew. Her deep blue eyes held depth that a human could not even dare to try and figure out, and her unusual hair color just added to her beauty, both inside and out.

"Morning, Michelle." Serena replied, jumping in her seat a little with excitement. Amara was a very fast driver, and at any rate, she wouldn't actually get detention! If she were lucky, she'd get there with enough time to catch even a few minutes of sleep before the morning bell rang.

"So, Serena, how have you been?" Michelle asked, trying to keep up conversation in the silent car. It wasn't uncomfortable, just unnatural. Serena almost always had something to talk about.

"Great! It feels amazing to finally be done with saving the world. I'll miss it some though, I guess. How about you guys?" Serena asked, watching the city streets around them blur at Amara's speed.

"Same as you, I guess." Amara shrugged.

"Are you enjoying high school, Serena?" Michelle asked.

"It's alright, I guess. More homework means more study sessions with the girls, but less sleep too." Serena complained. Michelle giggled behind her hand while Amara smiled. It was nice hearing the good old Serena complaining about school. Not about saving the world or missing Darien, just about normal stuff.

"So Kitten, how is wedding planning going?" Amara asked, trying to keep the conversation going.

"Oh, its going great! The weddings in four months, and in two months, me and Mina are going to go pick out my wedding dress! And me and Lita are going to find a good place for catering, she may be cooking some of the food…and of course, since you all are my brides maid, I'm still trying to figure out a maid of honor…I was thinking either Raye or Mina…who do you guys think? Or maybe Luna, as a human of course, or…" Serena rambled on, until the car came to a stop about two moments later.

"We're here, Kitten." Amara said as Serena opened the door and stepped out.

"Thanks so much for the ride, Amara! See you guys at the meeting!" Serena called, running into her school building.

"Its nice to see her so happy." Michelle commented, watching the blonde's retreating figure.

"Yeah, it is. Let's just hope things stay this way." Amara replied, pulling off again and leaving the high school in the dust.

**-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O**

Serena ran to her seat and released a breath of relief. She crossed her arms on her desk and rested her head on her arms, hoping to catch a few more moments of sleep before the teacher came in. Her eyelids fluttered shut, and she relaxed into her arms. Finally, she felt a great peace of mind, and sleep slowly surrounded her in its warm embrace, dragging her under-

"Serena!" A loud voice shouted. Serena yelped in surprise, jumping out of her seat and landing hardly at the ground, before glaring up at the cerulean eyed blonde before her.

"Mina, what was that for?" Serena growled. Mina held up both of her hands in a sign of innocence.

"Sorry, I was just kind of shocked to see you here on time. And to tell you some news!" Mina said excitedly.

"What news?" Serena asked, rubbing her bottom as Lita helped pull her up.

"Serena, Serena, did you hear?" A new voice shouted. The three, not including Amy who was absorbed in another book of hers, turned to see a girl with short reddish brown hair and blue eyes. Serena smiled at her long time friend.

"Hey Molly! Did I hear what?" Serena turned to her friend as she sat down in her seat. The girl leaned over Serena's desk and looked her straight in the eye.

"We're getting two new kids today!" Molly exclaimed. Serena's eyes widened.

"Wow, seriously?"

"Actually, that was what I was gonna tell you. But I don't know much else." Mina shrugged. Melvin walked up to the girls and joined the conversation.

"I hear its two girls from outta town." He explained, adjusting his glasses. Serena and Lita exchanged a look: Would these two new kids bring problems just like Alan and Ann had? The two alien 'exchange students' had done nothing but bring trouble, stealing people's energy. From what the Scouts knew, the two were happily starting their own new civilization and re-growing the Doom Tree.

"I can't wait to meet them." Amy said, putting her book down. She smiled at the group.

"Wow Amy, finish another chapter already? You just picked it up yesterday." Lita commented. Amy smiled and shook her head.

"Actually, I just finished the whole book." The blue haired girl replied with a broad smile on her face. The tall brunette nearly fell over.

"Anyways…what else do you know about the new girls, Melvin?" Mina asked, desperately wanting to change the subject. The book was about the Theory of Relativity, and it was huge. Scary big. Like it looked to be somewhere over four hundred pages. And if Amy had decided to pull her own all-nighter, that meant there was a test coming out soon about that same theory. And Mina was not ready to take that test.

"Hmm, nothing really." Melvin replied shrugging. Before anymore could be said, the door opened and in stepped a woman with brown hair that went to her mid back, its tips curling upwards. Her eyes were green and intense, and she gave the classroom a forced smile as everyone took their seats.

"Class, I'm sure you've heard about our two new students." She said. The class murmured to confirm what she'd said.

"I wonder how Ms. Ishikawa will introduce the new kids." Mina whispered to Serena from her seat behind the blonde, who simply shrugged in response. Did it matter how they were introduced? As long as they weren't any new Alien life forms trying to take over the world, Serena probably wouldn't have many issues with them.

"So, I guess there's no use in delaying this. Class, I'd like to introduce to you, Leilani Kaneko and Noelle Uchida." Ms. Ishikawa introduced as two girls entered the room.

One wasn't exactly tall, but she also wasn't exactly short. If anything, Serena would've guessed her height to be 5'5''. She had long black hair that fell freely beyond her knees and large brown eyes. Her dark cocoa skin was smooth and flawless. Beside her was a shorter girl with wavy black hair that reached her mid back. Her eyes were an extremely light shade of pale baby blue. Her skin was fair and smooth. Both wore the standard school uniform.

"Leilani, Noelle, would you please take your seats?" Ms. Ishikawa suggested, gesturing to the class. Without looking at each other, Leilani and Noelle walked together in sync to a set of empty desks beside Mina.

"Hi, I'm Mina Aino. Nice to meet you." Mina whispered to Leilani, who sat directly to her left.

"Likewise." The girl replied, giving Mina a curt nod. She hadn't even turned to face the blonde, just glancing towards her. After their quick encounter, Leilani's eyes returned to the lesson being held at the front of the class, but Mina had a feeling she wasn't paying attention. She tried to catch the other girl's, known as Noelle, attention, but she also seemed to be transfixed by the lesson.

When the bell rang for lunch, Mina made a beeline to the new students, followed by just about everyone in the class. Whispers went on around the two girls, but neither seemed to be paying attention. Mina noticed how some of the boys gazed at them and how a few girls looked at them with envious eyes. You couldn't blame them, the girls were beautiful. Gorgeous even. And they carried an aura of high stature. Eventually, Leilani stood and Noelle mirrored the action. The two walked to a corner of the classroom and stood silently for a moment before speaking to each other, their voices so low not even the gathering crowd could hear. The other students got bored not being able to hear that the conversation was about, and frustrated that neither girl was paying any of them any attention, so they returned to their normal routine.

**-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O**

"I don't feel anything yet." Noelle said softly to her companion, eyes surveying the classroom.

"I have to disagree with you there, Noelle. That girl, Mina Aino, there is something about her. I can sense it. She has a very powerful aura." Leilani replied, watching said blonde carefully. Noelle followed her companions gaze, and after a moment of silence, slowly nodded.

"I see what you mean. But I don't believe she is the one we search for, that Sailor Moon girl. Perhaps one of her scouts, though." Noelle whispered. Leilani nodded.

"I suppose then we should keep an eye on her and her friends?" Leilani asked, looking at her raven haired friend out of the corner of her eye. The girl returned the glance and they exchanged a nod.

"Yes, and it looks like they've just made our job even easier." Noelle pointed out, lightly gesturing to Mina as she made her way towards them, dragging another blonde behind her.

**-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O**

"Is it just me, or do they seem really close?" Mina whispered to her three friends. As they watched the two new students stand in the corner and talk quietly with one another, neither even bothering to give any other students in the classroom the time of day.

"Yeah, your right, Mina. Do you think their from the same place or already know each other?" Serena asked, crossing her arms.

"Maybe they do." Lita shrugged. Again, all four girls turned and watched as Leilani and Noelle continued their silent conversation, and for a moment, both girls watched them. The four quickly avoided their eyes.

"Do you think their talking about…us?" Serena whispered, nervously tucked a stray strand of blonde hair behind her ear. It was strange, out of all of the people in the classroom, the new students were talking about _them_.

"Maybe. Why don't we go over and at least say hello?" Amy suggested. Mina smiled brightly, holding up her signature V for Victory sign.

"Which is exactly what I was about to suggest we do!" Mina exclaimed, grabbing Serena's arm and leading her to the two new students, who quickly fell silent upon their approach.

"Hello, I'm Amy Mizuno." Amy introduced, holding one hand out to Leilani. Noelle quickly whispered in her ear and Leilani hesitantly placed one hand in Amy's before shaking it.

"Leilani Kaneko. Nice to meet you, Amy." Leilani replied, giving Amy a smile, even if it was somewhat forced. Amy reached her hand out next to Noelle who shook it quickly.

"I'm Lita Kino." Lita added, smiling.

"Hi, I'm Serena Tsukino. So where are you guys from?" Serena asked, smiling at both girls. They exchanged a quick, worried glance.

"Out of town." Noelle replied, shrugging. Serena furrowed her brow.

"Well, we know that, but _where _out of town?" Serena clarified. Again, Noelle and Leilani exchanged a glance.

"Just not from around here." Leilani answered. Serena huffed, giving up on the two girls.

"Well, how come you transferred, if you don't mind my asking?" Lita added, seeing the challenging look on Noelle's face. She wasn't scared of the small girl, but she had to admit, Noelle's nearly ice blue, or blue white, eyes kind of put her on edge. As if she were looking deeper, into her soul.

"It doesn't matter, we don't plan on being here for long." Noelle replied, raising her chin to try and look Lita in the eye. Her attempts were humorous actually, because she was so much shorter than the girl.

"Why?" Mina asked, drawing attention back to her. Leilani's eyes hardened.

"Because." She replied simply. The answer may have seemed sort and childish, but her voice was filled with anger and despair, frustration and sadness. So many emotions filled her voice and flowed out with that one, simply word. It sent chills down Mina's spine how this one girl could be so…expressive so casually.

"Well…do you guys wanna hang out with us after school?" Amy invited. Mina and Serena sent her warning glances, but the blue haired girl just ignored their looks.

"I'm sorry, but we must decline. We have other…business to attend to." Noelle replied.

"Do you two always do that?" Serena asked, pointing a finger between the two girls. Both arched an eyebrow at her comment.

"Do we both always do what?" Leilani questioned.

"That. You know, alternate speaking and walk in sync and act like your connected or something." Serena explained.

"I'm not one to look out for things like that." Noelle shrugged. Serena narrowed her eyes again but kept her mouth shut.

"You sure you won't be able to join us?" Lita asked, trying to be as polite as Amy had been.

"Positive." Leilani assured, nodding.

"Well, if you change your mind, we'll be meeting at Cherry Hill Temple. Our friend Raye works there, and we'd love to get to know you all better." Amy went on, smiling.

"Alright. Thank you for the invitation." Noelle said, bowing slightly. The fours girls said goodbye before turning and walking away, Noelle and Leilani watching them as they walked.

"Those girls are most certainly special. We will need to keep an eye on them." Leilani whispered, watching the four girls, but the one known as Serena more than the others.

"Yes, I can sense it from them. If they are not the senshi, they are somehow involved with them or possess great skill." Noelle added, and Leilani nodded her agreement. A moment of silence passed between the two as they watched the other students talk amongst themselves. Even without words, they could feel each others determination, hope, and sadness. Neither knew if the other senshi were still alive, or if Sailor Comet, Sailor Pandora, and Sailor Titania had landed safely at their destination of Kinmoku.

"Do you think they are safe?" Leilani asked quietly, tears pooling in her eyes. They did not spill over, and she made no move to wipe them away. Noelle watched her life long friend and princess sadly.

"I can not say, Leilani. Just have faith in them." Noelle replied, nodding assuredly before putting one arm around Leilani's shoulders and holding her close, pulling her into a tight embrace.

**-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O**

"Okay, there's something off about those girls." Serena confided in her friends as they reached their desks.

"Tell me about it!" Mina exclaimed, glancing back at the two girl who seemed to be watching them again.

"Maybe their just shy. It's not like being the new kid is exactly easy." Amy pointed out, shrugging.

"Amy's right, you guys. Maybe they'll come around." Lita replied, putting her hands behind her head and looking up at the ceiling of the classroom. About ten moments later, the bell rang.

**End of School Day**

"I can't believe how wonderful I feel!" Leilani confessed as they walked out of the high school, and Noelle looked at her with an arched, thin black eyebrow.

"What makes you feel so wonderful? I thought you weren't too eager to come to Earth." Noelle dropped her voice so no other nosy students could overhear their conversation. _That _would be something interesting to explain.

"Oh, Earth is alright. Better than I imagined from our school lessons back home, actually. But I mean…after that last battle, we were all hurt so badly…I mean, I knew our Transport Beams could heal us, but I thought I'd still have at least _one _injury." Leilani explained, and Noelle nodded.

"Well, I guess our Beams Healing Powers get more powerful with the power our attacks increase by." Noelle shrugged, and Leilani nodded.

"I've never thought of it like that." She replied, and the two girls fell into silence, Noelle leading the way and Leilani just following, figuring they'd walk around the city for a while. A mischievous grin appeared on Noelle's face.

"Are you ready?" The small girl asked, a twinkle in her eye. Leilani looked at her close friend strangely.

"Ready for what?" Leilani asked, perfectly arching a brow. Inwardly, she didn't really want to know the answer.

"Yesterday, not long after we arrived, I left you. Remember? While you were registering us for school because you thought it might help us find the Sol Senshi? I was not gone for long, but just long enough to find a good place for us to stay. It's a nice apartment, 3 bedrooms, 1 bath, and one of those couches you roll out and sleep on. I know its nothing compared to…_your palace, _but it will do for now." Noelle explained, lowering her voice on the end of her sentence. Leilani smiled back at her.

"You are a wonderful friend, and I don't know what I'd do without you." Leilani confessed, wrapping Noelle in a tight hug. The fair skinned girl returned her friend's embrace.

"So, where is this wonderful new home of ours?" Leilani joked as she released the smaller girl, who gave her a wide smile.

"Just follow me." Noelle replied, winking at Leilani as she walked, the dark skinned girl following not far behind.

**-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-**

A short, silver haired girl watched as three beams of light, one purple, one green, and one teal, landed miles away from the castle she was lived in. Narrowing her piercing green eyes, she quickly turned heel and ran out of her room, hoping to find someone quickly to help her. They could not afford another threat to their people so soon. On her way out, she nearly ran face-to-face, or face-to-chest, into a tall brunette with violet eyes.

"Maker, did you-"

"See those beams of light? Yes." The brunette, obviously Maker, answered. She ran towards the nearest exit, her silver haired companion following closely behind her. Both skidded to a stop to avoid hitting a door that had just opened. Out stepped another female, dressed similarly to Maker and her cohort. She had long, raven black hair tied in a low ponytail as the other two had, and her eyes were blue. Wordlessly, she nodded to them before running the same direction they were headed.

Running through the hallways, they made a few quick turns before bursting through the front doors of the palace. They continued past a field of flowers, maneuvering around whichever trees stood in their way. Eventually, they came to a screeching stop when they saw three Sailor Senshi before them.

One was tall with pale, fair skin. She had long, blonde hair pulled up into a high ponytail on top of her head and cerulean eyes. Her senshi uniform had a green skirt and green collar with two teal stripes. Both her back and front bows were teal, and the jewel in the center of the front bow was round and green. Her gloves went up to her mid-forearm and were rimmed green with a teal ribbon. Her choker was green with a round, teal pendant. Under her green skirt was a teal, transparent layer. She had blue, star shaped earrings. Her shoes were green heels with teal ribbons around her ankles.

To her right stood a shorter Senshi. Her skirt and collar were red with green stripes on the collar. Her front and back bows were green, and a red, round jewel shone on the center of the front bow. She also had mid-forearm high gloves, rimmed with red and green ribbons. Under her skirt was a transparent green layer. Around her neck was a red choker with a green jewel matching the one on her front bow. She had knee length straight black hair and amethyst eyes. Her earrings were small, hanging hearts. She had red heels and green ribbons around her ankles.

To the left of the first Senshi was another, who seemed to have a height in the middle of the other two. She had wavy black hair that went to her mid back and icy blue eyes. Her skin was a light brown. She had a purple skirt and color with a transparent green layer under her skirt. Her front and back bows were green, and in the center of the front bow was a crescent shaped purple moon. Her boots were purple and knee high with a green ribbon around her ankles. Her gloves rose to her elbows, rimmed purple with green ribbons. From her ears hung two green hearts. The three Senshi looked up and narrowed their eyes.

"Who are you?" The third one hissed, surveying each of the three females standing before her. Healer narrowed her eyes.

"We should be asking you that." The silver head girl replied, holding her Star Yell. The shortest of the mysterious new Senshi looked at the item and whispered to the blonde beside her, whose eyes widened.

"Do you, by any chance, know the Sailor Starlights?" The blonde asked, her blue eyes surveying them. The raven haired leather clad girl spoke up.

"We are the Starlights, and who are you?" She asked, lowering her Star Yell. The one to the blonde's left looked her square in the eye and straightened her posture.

"We are the Sailor Senshi of Princess Celestia, Princess of the heavens. We seek the Sailor Starlights, but trust us, we mean you no harm." The purple and green girl said, bowing her head before the three. Her fellow Senshi followed her example.

"Your names?" The raven haired girl questioned.

"I am Sailor Titania, Soldier of Knowledge and Tragedy. I am friend, protector and advisor of Princess Celestia. I am the Guardian of Princess Uranus and the second highest Senshi in ranking for our Princess." Titania replied, stepping to the side and letting the taller blonde Senshi come forth.

"I am Sailor Comet, Soldier of Combat and Terrain. I am friend and protector of Princess Celestia. I guard no one Sol Senshi. I am the third highest Senshi in ranking for our Princess." The blonde, Sailor Comet said, standing aside as the last one came forth.

"I am Sailor Pandora, Soldier of Annihilation and Devotion. I am friend and protector of Princess Celestia. I am the Guardian of Princess Saturn. I am the fourth highest Senshi in ranking for our Princess." Sailor Pandora answered, before standing in line with her two other Senshi.

"And you are?" Sailor Comet asked, crossing her arms and raising a brow skeptically.

"I am Sailor Star Fighter, leader of the Sailor Starlights." The raven haired one replied.

"I am Sailor Star Maker." The tall brunette answered.

"I'm Sailor Star Healer." The short, silver haired one said, nodding curtly.

"It really is the Sailor Starlights…" Sailor Pandora whispered in awe. Fighter arched a brow.

"You said you were looking for us. Why?" She asked, hands on her hips. Comet, Pandora, and Titania exchanged a look, trying to decide who would speak up. After a moment, it seemed Titania lost the silent battle and sighed before turning to the Starlights.

"Our home is in trouble. Being Princess of the Heavens, Celestia lives on a planet far from here in a new galaxy. We call our home Thalia. But our planet has been attacked by a new enemy, ruler of the Realm of Shadows." Titania answered.

"Could you elaborate on the situation? Like who is this ruler?" Maker asked, crossing her arms. Titania sighed again.

"He calls himself Prince Damien. He is the Prince of the realm of Shadows. Many years ago, before I had taken my place as one of Celestia's Senshi, there was a war against the realm of Shadows. Prince Damien himself led it, but Celestia's mother, Queen Sahara, defeated them and trapped them in a crystal of energy. The crystal was sent to Queen Serenity, but it is believed when she died, the crystal drifted through space and found its way to the hands of Chaos. Chaos unleashed the power of the crystal, and now that the contents of the crystal is unleashed, not only have Prince Damien and his army of shadows returned, but they are far more powerful now because they have the power of the Dark Crystal which once contained them." Titania explained, her head bowed as tears pooled in her eyes. She couldn't face them, not now. They'd never accept them. They had failed Celestia. Their world would be destroyed. The entire _universe _would be destroyed. She felt a hand on her shoulder and she looked up, staring into the blue eyes of Sailor Star Fighter.

"We must know more about this. Please, tell us." Fighter begged, offering a sad smile. Titania opened her mouth, but no words came out. She couldn't bring herself to say the words. This story had haunted her for many nights, keeping her awake, putting her into fits of unsettling slumber. Her lower lip quivered as the tears flowed, and it took all her self control not to burst into sobs. Pandora cleared her throat.

"The Dark Crystal. Damien calls it the 'Shadow Crystal', and if he takes power of the Silver Crystal, there will be no hope for us, and life as we know it will end under a new rule of the shadows." Pandora added, and she didn't stand for another moment before her knees buckled out from beneath her and she burst into sobs.

"Is this why you came to us? To ask for our help?" Maker asked, dropping her arms to her side. She glanced at the still silent Healer.

"Yes. We seek the help from you three while our Princess seeks help from the Sol Senshi." Comet answered.

The Three Starlights froze. It had been over a year, a grudgingly long year, since they had last seen the Senshi of the Moon Kingdom. Construction had only taken about ten months of their time because the three had been so dedicated to it, and things on Kinmoku were running as smoothly as they had before the attack. That's why seeing the beams of light were so strange, the Starlights were dedicated to making sure Kinmoku would stay safe. Going back now…would just be wrong.

"I'm sorry, but we can't." Fighter said at last, taking her hand of off Titania's shoulder and stepping back. The three Senshi of Thalia looked up at them.

"What? Why?" Pandora demanded, feeling suddenly very weak and very sick. None of the Starlights could bare the pain in her eyes, and they all had to turn away.

"We have a duty here to our Princess, Kakyuu. We can not abandon her. Not now, not ever. We need to protect her and Kinmoku." Healer replied. It hurt her to break it to the other Senshi, but they couldn't abandon Kakyuu and return to Earth. They just couldn't.

"Don't you get it? There won't be a Kinmoku to protect if you don't help us!" Comet shouted. _That _got the Starlights attention.

"What do you mean?" Maker asked. A low growl escaped Pandora's throat and the Starlights and her own Senshi turned to face her with wide eyes. Comet and Titania had known Pandora for what felt like all of their lives, and they had never heard her growl. Ever. She was too kind and calm for that. Her temper was normally contained, and the worst she did was let a few mildly unpleasant language of Thalian leak through her lips. But that was it. The smaller Senshi brought herself to her feet and approached the Starlights, glaring at them.

"What do we mean? We _mean _that if you don't come with us, your planet will be destroyed, just like our planet. Do you not understand? Damien will stop at _nothing _to rule the entire universe. Kinmoku _will _be destroyed. Thalia _will _be destroyed. Every star you see, the Sun, the Moon, the Earth, every planet in this god damn universe will be gone! And if we are not servants to his Royal Dark Pain in the Ass, we'll all be dead too! And that includes your princess!" The small Senshi said, anger and malice dripping off of every word.

Honestly, Titania and Comet were extremely scared. Pandora never got angry, not enough that it would show like this anyway, and she'd never let words _that _unpleasant slip through her lips. It seemed desperate times did indeed bring out the desperation in you.

"Nothing at all with survive this devastation?" A new voice asked. All six heads turned to look behind the Starlights and past a tree to see a woman with long red hair in two looped ponytails. She wore a long, off the shoulder red silk dress. Her eyes were a reddish-orange color, and she smiled warmly at the six Senshi before her.

"Yes, there will be no trace of life here. The light of the universe will vanish as shadows are cast over our worlds." Comet answer, narrowing her eyes at the woman. Healer looked back at her and glared. Comet glared back at her and a low snarl came from her.

"Who are you?" Titania asked, easing a bit of the tension she stepped between the two silently feuding Senshi so that neither could see the other.

"I am Kakyuu, Princess of Kinmoku." The red haired girl replied. Titania's eyes widened.

"You are the Princess these three have vowed to protect?" The purple Senshi asked. She didn't mean it as insulting, she just imagined the Princess they spoke of to be older and more strict, not kind and gentle like Kakyuu was.

"Yes, I am. And you are…?"

"I am Sailor Titania. These are my fellow Senshi, Sailor Comet and Sailor Pandora. We are the Senshi of Thalia, planet of Princess Celestia and the Divine Crystal Kingdom. We come seeking the help of your Starlights in a battle against darkness that threatens all the universe." Titania replied, gesturing to each Senshi in turn.

"Princess Celestia? Daughter of Sahara? I thought she had died long ago." Kakyuu said, eyes widened a bit.

"The very same, and our Princess is alive and well on Earth. She goes there with the leader of her Senshi, Sailor Eclipse, in hopes of getting the help of the Sol Senshi." Comet replied. She walked over to Pandora's side and Titania did the same.

"The Sol Senshi? Have they been successful?" Kakyuu asked. The three Senshi of Thalia looked away.

"We do not know. We had to abandon our Princess with Sailor Eclipse. They should be on Earth now, but we have no way of contacting them." Pandora replied sheepishly. She was honestly embarrassed to admit she had no way of contacting her Princess.

"I see. But why did you leave your planet?" Kakyuu's curiosity was starting to tickle Titania's nerves. She just wanted to help her Princess and save her home.

"Prince Damien and his Shadows have become strong with the power of the Shadow Crystal. They overtook our planet, and we lost track of our other Senshi. We believe they…perished in the battle. We had to get out to protect our Princess, so we left to seek help from the Starlights." Comet explained. She knew her Senshi leader, or at least the leader with Eclipse gone, had a short fume when it came to patience. And the last thing they needed was for her to snap at the _Princess _of the Senshi they needed in order to help save the Universe. Kakyuu nodded.

"Then we shall be leaving soon." She answered. The Senshi, Starlights included, looked at her with wide eyes.

"But Princess, we must-" Fighter began, but she was interrupted when Kakyuu raised a hand to silence her.

"I am not going to send my Starlights on such a dangerous mission alone. Besides, it would be nice to return to Earth and catch up with some old friends. It could be our own vacation of sorts." Kakyuu said, and her Starlights bowed to her to show they respected her and her decision. With that, she turned and walked back to the palace. Comet gave a smile of self satisfaction.

"Well, the more the merrier, isn't that-" She began, but was interrupted by the horrified scream of Pandora. The five other Senshi turned and looked at the small girl, who was staring with wide, frightful eyes at the sky above.

"Pandora, what's the matter?" Titania asked, putting a hand on her friend's shoulder. The smaller Senshi pointed one shaking finger at the sky, and Titania followed her gaze. When she saw what Pandora had pointed out to her, she clamped her hand over her mouth and shook her head, tears flowing down her cheeks. Comet followed their gazes and her eyes widened.

"No…" The blonde Senshi whispered, taking a step back. Fighter came up to her on one side, Maker on the other.

"What's the matter? It just appears to be a dark cloud." Fighter shrugged, trying to see why the cloud of darkness high above them, seeming like light-years away, had the Thalia Senshi acting like this.

"No, it's not a cloud." Comet whispered, shaking her head as tears pooled in her eyes.

"Then what is it?" Healer asked, squinting into the sky as she looked at it. It did look like just a harmless cloud. Comet fell to her knees, shaking as sobs wracked her body. Fighter knelt beside her, when they heard Titania take a shaky breath.

"That's not a cloud…it is the Shadows. They have officially destroyed Thalia, and they are moving on to the rest of the cosmos."

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**Translation for what Serena said:**

"**Ugh, I can't be late! I'll get detention!"**

**-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-**

**Layla: Wowwie wow wow! I don't know about you guys, but that took a lot to write!**

**Jazz: How do you think I feel? I did all the typing!**

**Kelsey: Blah, blah, blah, your needs! Anyways, if you guys have any question, comments, let us know!**

**Aqua: And pictures of the Thalia Senshi will be up soon!**

**Emma: Hope you liked it as much as we were eager to write it!**

**Jazz: Yep! So please, R&R! Hope to hear from you guys soon!**


	3. Sayonara, Normality

_Sailor Moon: Shadowed Secrets_

_Chapter 2: Sayonara, Normality _

_Disclaimer: Do I seem like I'm smart enough to come up with Sailor Moon? There's no way I own it!_

_-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-_

_Aqua: And we are back!_

_Layla: And since we are, we felt good enough about our intro and first chappie, we decided to keep going!_

_Kelsey: So if you did review, thank you. If you didn't review, well, please review. Oh, Important Notice_, if we switch, you know, from Senshi to Scouts, or something like that, we're really sorry. We just get so mixed up sometimes. It's hard enough keeping the names right, let alone that…And Transformation Sequences for TWO Senshi will be in this chapter!

Emma: See you guys at the end of the chappie!

Jazz: Hope you like it!

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"**Noelle…this place…it's perfect!" Leilani exclaimed, walking through the halls of their small, temporary home. The dark skinned girl seemed fascinated by the difference between her home lifestyle and the knew one she'd have to soon adapt to.**

"**I'm guessing you like it?" Noelle joked, crossing her arms and leaning in the doorway of a bedroom Leilani was currently looking around. The raven haired girl turned to her shorter friend.**

"**I love it! It's perfect for us…how much did this cost you?" Leilani asked, running a hand along a wall.**

"**Not that much. It was wise for us to keep currency from each planet, it certainly came in handy. And we have plenty more left. Enough to give this place some decorating." Noelle replied. Leilani froze and she turned back to her with sad eyes.**

"**You speak as though we'll be here for long." The taller girl whispered. Noelle's eyes widened and she dropped her gaze.**

"**I'm sorry, My Princess." The girl murmured, her voice low and full of sadness. She felt a hand on her chin and brought her eyes up to meet her Princess', the girl she'd vowed to protect with her life, who had tears silently running down her cheeks.**

"**Do not apologize. I can tell already, you are beginning to enjoy it here. And construction will take us so long, we may be here for quite a while." Leilani pointed out, and Noelle felt a small smile form on her face.**

"**Thank you, Leilani." She whispered, throwing her arms around the girl and hugging her. Leilani hugged her back.**

"**Alright, enough of this mushy-gushy stuff. We should be discussing how we plan to go about this." Leilani said, unwrapping her friend's arms from around her. She walked into the living room, Noelle following close behind her. She sat down on the floor cross legged, and her shorter friend sat across from her.**

"**I think we should befriend those girls from earlier. Mina and her friends." Noelle suggested, leaning back on her palms. Leilani arched a brow.**

"**Befriend them? How do you suppose we do that without seeming too…suspicious? We were rude to them earlier, do you honestly think they'd accept us so quickly?" Leilani pointed out, and Noelle shrugged.**

"**Well, that Amy girl did invite us over…should we go?" Noelle asked, leaning forward again.**

"**Hmm….it can't hurt. And they **_**did **_**extend an actual invitation. Maybe we should go…" Leilani mused.**

"**Well, if we do go, I am not wearing this uniform." Noelle smiled, and Leilani couldn't help but laugh.**

"**Neither am I." Leilani agree. She reached her arms out to her shorter friend as she stood and Noelle grasped her hands and pulled her up.**

"**Well, what're going to wear?" Noelle asked, hands on her hips. Leilani looked lost in thought for a moment before her eyes lit up.**

"**We'll have to hurry, but I saw this great store called Hidden Treasures. I think it would be good. There's gotta be something there for us. But we just can't try on stuff, we're gonna have to hurry if we wanna get to that Raye girl's temple." Leilani replied, hurrying to the door. Noelle laughed and ran after her.**

**O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O**

"I'd like to purchase these." Leilani said, handing a load of outfits to the female cashier, who raised her eyebrows. There were over seventeen outfits here, and these same girls had walked in a little over forty five minutes ago.

"Are you sure? You didn't even try anything on…" The brunette pointed out, staring incredulously into Leilani's eyes. Noelle smiled at her side.

"We're positive. We have somewhere we need to be." The small, black haired girl replied. The woman behind the register, named Adina, shook her head before ringing up the items on the register. The girls paid, thanked her, and hurried on their way.

"So, should we find somewhere nice and change?" Leilani asked, looking at her friend.

"Ah, but let us wait for a moment. Enjoy Earth's sunlight and the peace." Noelle replied, tilting her head back and sighing in contentment as the sun's rays warmed her skin.

"You really like it here, don't you?" Leilani stopped walking and Noelle stopped and turned back to look at her friend.

"So far, I do. It's so different from Thalia. I feel…I can't describe it. Don't you feel how different it is?" Noelle smiled at Leilani, narrowing her eyes at her in thought.

"Actually…I do. It's so…just not the same. I feel freer, without the responsibility. But…I also feel burdened because of our mission." Leilani replied, shrugging as the sparkle in her eye was replaced by sadness. Noelle walked balk towards her and gently laid a hand on Leilani's shoulder. The girl turned and looked at her friend's pale blue eyes and the shorter girl offered her a small smile.

"I know its hard, Princess, but life will get better. I promise. When we defeat the Shadow Prince, life will be as we knew it." The smaller girl vowed, embracing her Princess from the side. Leilani sighed.

"I suppose your right." Leilani confessed. Noelle smirked.

"Of course I'm right! Now, enough sad talk, time to socialize!" Noelle replied, grabbing her friends hand and dragging her forward. Leilani laughed, but allowed her friend to pull her around the city.

**-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-**

"I can't believe its all destroyed…" Pandora sighed, walking through the halls of Kakyuu's palace. She walked to the left of Titania, and on the purple Starlights right was Comet.

"I know…our people, our Queen, our Senshi…their all gone…" Titania whispered, tears silently flowing down her cheeks. Comet took a shaky breath.

"But we must be strong for our Princess." The tall blonde Senshi replied. Pandora silently nodded.

"And for our Prince…" She whispered.

The sound of clicking heels got the girls attention and they turned to look as they saw Sailor Star Healer round the corner and walk towards them. Titania and Comet turned to Pandora who sighed. Healer couldn't help but raise a brow.

"Wanna talk about it?" The Starlight asked, looking at the smallest Thalia Sailor Senshi, who looked back at her with sad eyes.

"Our planet is destroyed. We have nothing left but our Princess now." The small girl replied, leaning herself against a wall. Healer nodded.

"I know how you feel." She replied. The three Senshi turned to her.

"How could you possibly understand what we're feeling?" Titania growled out. Her planet was destroyed. Her fellow Senshi were dead. She had no way of contacting her Princess, who was on Earth with her head Senshi. And worst of all, now that the Shadows were finished destroying Thalia, they were sure to destroy the rest of the galaxy soon after. Who knew how much time they had before the next attack.

"Galaxia had destroyed Kinmoku, and Kakyuu was injured. Fighter, Maker, and I were the only ones who survived, and we went to Earth to try and find her. After Sailor Moon destroyed Chaos, we returned here and had to rebuild Kinmoku. It took us ten months, and we've been here ever since." Healer replied, and the Thalia Senshi's eyes widened.

"We…we had no idea…" Pandora whispered. They never knew Chaos had destroyed Kinmoku, and looking around, you'd never be able be able to tell. The planet was running smoothly, people were living happily…it all seemed so normal. No one could see this planet had, a year ago, been destroyed by dark forces.

"Well, I'll take that as a good thing." Someone said. The four Senshi turned and looked as Fighter approached them. Healer nodded solemnly.

"It is, because that means no one can tell Chaos ever destroyed anything." The short, silver haired Starlight added.

"Do you ever suppose we shall be able to repair Thalia in such a way?" Pandora asked, but neither of the Starlights answered because they knew the question was not directed at them.

"That is if His Royal Darkness hasn't destroyed it all." Comet growled, and Pandora bowed her head in silence. The possibility had never come to them before now. If Thalia was completely destroyed…they weren't even sure Celestia had the power to recreate an entire planet.

"Do not give up hope. Sometimes, that is all you have." Fighter said, her voice gentle. Titania offered her a small, sad smile.

"Our Princess is our hope. She is our light, and we will never abandon her." The second highest ranking Senshi answered, and a single tear flowed from her eye and down her cheek.

"Can you please tell us more about this Damien and your Princess?" A new voice said. Eyes turned as Maker approached the other five Senshi. Pandora and Comet looked to Titania, who nodded.

"Damien was not always evil. He was once Prince of the Skies, and betrothed to marry our Princess Celestia, Princess of the Heavens. Actually, she is Princess of the Universe, though. Naturally, Celestia refused to marry him," Titania chuckled lightly at this part. "She always has been this way. In her eyes, destiny is not shaped for you, but you shape it. Someone right now could tell her what her future holds and she'd brush them away. She always follows her heart, and is determined not to let anything, or anyone, control her in anyway. Damien had fallen in love with her, and was hurt terribly by her rejection. He wallowed in self pity until he was found by the Shadowed One-"

"Who is this 'Shadowed One?" Maker interrupted. Titania looked to Comet, who sighed before continuing.

"The Shadowed One is just that. A shadowed form that absorbs all of the evil and malice of the world. The more evil in the Universe, the more powerful the Shadowed One gets. She convinced Damien that if she were allowed into the Prince's body, she could make Celestia fall in love with him. And naturally, he did just that. The Shadowed One completely overtook Damien's body, tainted him…and not even the Queen could kill him. Damien's spirit has merged with that of the Shadowed One, so they can not be separated. The Shadowed One is who raged war on our kingdom long ago, but was sentenced into the Shadow Crystal by Queen Sahara." The blonde Senshi explained before nodding to Pandora, who continued the story.

"That was when the War began. Damien called upon all the Shadows, all of the darkness of the world, and had them attack our Kingdom. Us, the Senshi of Thalia, held them off for as long as we could, but there were so many shadows, and so little of us, that eventually, they moved on. We lost our fellow Senshi to the darkness, but Eclipse, Thalia, Comet, and I were ordered to fall back, seeing as we are Celestia's main guardians. The battle raged on, and one day…one day, the final light of our Kingdom died out. They had killed our Queen. Celestia hid our Prince to keep him safe from the darkness, as he was near and dear to her. She took the lines with us, and we fought for our Kingdom." The smaller Senshi locked gazes with her leader, who nodded.

"We couldn't last but so long. Even with Celestia's powers, there are limits. And we couldn't afford to lose our Princess. We retreated into the castle, and spoke with our Princess until we could convince her to go to Earth with Eclipse, where they are now and seek the help of the Sol Senshi, while we came here to find you." Titania finished.

"And can you tell us more about Celestia?" Fighter asked. Comet smiled softly.

"Our Princess…there is no one like her. She hates limitations of any kind, including her own power. She loves music, it is her own release. But her power…it is great. We've never seen anything like it. She has been trusted with the Divine Crystal. But she is also quite beautiful. Many love her, but she loves no one but her Senshi, the Queen, and the Prince."

"But you said she didn't love Damien." Healer pointed out. The three Thalia Senshi looked at him quizzically before bursting into giggles and fits of laughter.

"I'm sorry…we shouldn't laugh, but no, Celestia does not love Damien. In fact, she despise him with a deep passion. But the Prince, _our _Prince, is her brother, Prince Satori." Pandora explained.

"Prince Satori? What about him? Was he…lost in the war?" Fighter asked, plopping down on the floor. Pandora followed her example.

"Prince Satori is very much so alive. He is a very…interesting character. He's only 13, making him three years younger than our Princess. But many don't believe he is of the royal family." Comet went on.

"Why not? He _is _her brother, isn't he?" Healer asked, crossing her arms. The three Senshi of Thalia nodded.

"He definitely is, but many don't believe it because of their appearances." Pandora said.

"Yes, because, while our Princess has a dark complexion, our Prince has a more…fair skin tone." Titania explained.

"Oh…well, why is that?" Maker asked. Titania's eye twitched. She wasn't always the best for patience, that was Pandora's department. And all of these questions were really running her patience thin.

"We're not exactly sure. Ask the Queen herself if you get a chance!" The purple and green Senshi snapped, before turning heel and disappearing down the corridor. Pandora and Comet sighed as she walked away.

"Please, forgive Titania. She isn't exactly the most patient girl. But she gets better once you get to know her." Comet assured, before running after her friend.

"She's right you know. Just give Titania time, she'll warm up to you." Pandora said, smiling. The Starlights just nodded and a silence befell the hall. Pandora bit her lip and smiled again, turning to Sailor Star Healer and leaning forward, laying her arms over her crossed legs.

"So…what's Kinmoku like?"

**-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-**

A tall man with messy black hair and deep blue eyes sat on a tall, black and red throne. All around him, from him, through him, and behind the throne, flowed dark shadows, moving in waves through the wind as if they were dancing. One shadow hovered above the floor before the throne, and slowly, it began to quiver, before taking form. The bottom part formed into two legs, and slowly, as the shadow lifted, another man appeared. The man knelt before the throne, his shoulder length black hair falling around his face. His eyes were a piercing blood red, and his uniform was a strict black. He looked up at the man sitting before him.

"My Lord, we have covered Thalia in darkness, but there is no sign of the Divine Princess." The man reported, and the one on the throne scowled.

"Then where is she, General Kenway?" The man on the throne sneered.

"I apologize, Prince Damien, but I do not know." Kenway replied, bowing his head. Damien just glared down at him.

"_Find _her, General Kenway. I don't care how long it takes or what we must destroy, but find the Princess." Prince Damien growled out.

"Yes, My Lord." Kenway replied, Slowly, the shadows surrounded his body and engulfed him, dragging him back into the darkness as he joined the other mass of Shadows.

"Remember, Damien, don't let your temper get the best of you." A voice cooed from the shadows. One stopped floating beside the throne and slowly took the form of a beautiful woman, with waist length midnight black hair like Kenway's and piercing red eyes. Damien growled at her.

"I don't have time for your little tricks and games, Kendra." He replied, eyes narrowed at the woman. Kendra just laughed at him, placing one hand on her hip, which was covered by a skin-hugging black dress.

"Tsk tsk! Someone seems upset he can't find his precious Princess…" She sighed, sitting on an armrest of the throne. Damien scooted away from her, a look of pure disgust on his face.

"Don't you have some other shadows to try and seduce?" He asked, and she crossed her arms.

"I'm insulted! That wasn't very nice you know, My Liege." She pointed out, waving a finger at him. He rolled his eyes.

"Don't try anything, Kendra. I'm not in the mood for your little games." The Prince sneered, before turning and leaving the throne room. Kendra smiled wickedly as she followed him, fanning herself with a small black and red striped hand-held fan.

"Oh, that's right. Because you're still pinning after the Demonic Princess." Kendra replied, rolling her eyes. Damien stopped mid step and wheeled on her, glaring at the scantily black clad woman.

"She is the Divine Princess, and don't forget it. She is twice the woman you'll ever be, you sniveling slut, and she is your future queen, so I expect you refer to her as such." Damien hissed, then her turned and continued on his way. Kendra felt tears brimming in her eyes and heat flooded her cheeks. She wasn't sure how to feel, hurt or angry, and in that moment, the anger won.

"That's not what you said last night!" She snapped, stomping after him. Damien opened the door to his quarters and glanced back at her once.

"And as the other times, you shall make sure to remember, it is simply meaningless fucking. And I don't want to hear about it again." The Prince replied before slamming the door in her face.

Kendra stood frozen for a moment before falling to her knees, tears silently rolling down her cheeks. Slowly, she stood and made her way through the Palace of Shadows, having no real destination. Eventually, she ran into a very tall man with short, black hair and red eyes as he turned the corner.

"Are you alright, Kendra?" The man asked, placing two hands on her shoulders. Kendra looked into his red eyes.

"No, I'm not alright Hunter. He…why can't he feel the way I do…?" She whispered, before wrapping her arms around him and pressing her face into his chest. Slowly, Hunter's arms found their way around her and he ran one hand through her long black hair.

"I wish I could change things for you, Kendra, but that is not my place. The Prince loves the Divine Princess, and there is nothing we can do about that." He replied, and her sobs intensified.

"But…after all we're been through…" She went on, and Hunter shushed her.

"But that is just sex, Kendra. The only love there is the love you feel for him. He does not return that, and I'm sorry, but there's nothing you can do." Hunter murmured, and she tightened her grip on him.

"Hunter…my dear brother, I think you are the only one in this world I have left." She confessed, and Hunter couldn't help his lips curling into a small smile.

"And you, darling sister, will never be alone. Not as long as I have breath in my body." He responded, kissing the top of her forehead as she continued to cry into his shirt, leaving behind tear stains.

**O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O**

Damien paced his room in thought, glaring at the floor as though it were the cause of his problems. As soon as he had power over the Shadows, he'd ordered them to attack Thalia, and to destroy everything if needed to find the Divine Princess. And after all this time, she was still gone. She'd abandoned her planet, and she could be anywhere in the universe at this time.

"Damn it all!" He exclaimed, knocking over a dresser as he sat down at the foot of his bed. He knelt over and laid his arms over his knees, still glaring at the floor. He wrong his hands, burying his upper teeth in his lower lip, enjoying the small sting he got from the sensation.

"_Now now, my Prince, you really must watch that temper…_" A voice whispered. Out of the air, a new shadow formed, taking the body of a beautiful dark skinned woman with blood red eyes and knee length jet black hair. Her body was partially transparent, which was no surprise to Damien. She had visited him many times before, and he was used to the fact her body was transparent…and impervious.

"Not now, Shadow." The Prince growled out, and the woman, Shadow, let out a low chuckle.

"_Aw, I just thought you'd want some company…_" She cooed, sitting on the bed beside him and crossing her legs. The strange thing about her was that her lips never moved, but the sound flowed from between her lips freely as the voices of all being did. Damien scoffed.

"The last thing I need right now is more idiotic disturbances." He replied, rolling his eyes. Shadow shook her head.

"_I wouldn't call myself, or the news I bring you 'idiotic', my Prince."_ She replied. That caught Damien's interest.

"What news?" He asked, looking at her for the first time since she'd sat beside him.

"_That Princess of yours…Celestia…you search for her, no_?"

"I do. What of it?" He laid the palms of his hands behind him on the bed and leaned back, resting his weight there. He narrowed his eyes at her suspiciously. If it was one thing he knew about her from experience, it was that Queen Shadow was devious. Her words were deceitful, and she was very cunning, always finding loop holes to not tell the _whole_ truth about the situation. But he was becoming desperate when it came to Divine Princess Celestia, and was willing to take just near any advice on finding her, and follow any leads. Even if the words came from the devious Queen of Shadows.

"_Then, I can help you find her._"

"How so?" Prince Damien felt his heart skip a beat. He would do anything to find the Princess. They _were_ intended to marry, and he was ready to go through with the union. He'd fallen in love with her beauty and her aura from first sight, even if all she'd ever shown his was loathing and discourtesy.

"_I can feel it…the Princess will seek the help of the Sailor Senshi of the Universe."_

"There are more of them?" Wonderful. Even more bothersome Senshi to deal with, who would more than likely do the same as the Thalia Senshi…do all in their power to make sure the Princess stayed at least a planet away from him. Whenever he or his Shadows tried to approach the Divine Princess, her Senshi unleashed an onslaught of attacks while one of them took her and fled the scene. It was becoming a routine for the Shadow Prince. An irritating routine.

"_The Sol Senshi…Senshi of the Silver Millennium. And the Starlights of Kinmoku."_

"And you're certain this is where she is going?" A lead would be a good start, but it would also just be a large waste of time. And energy, something the Shadows couldn't afford to lose. Not when his intended final battle of the Shadow War was soon approaching.

"_Have you any other leads?"_

"…Good point, then. This Kinmoku…will be destroyed before Sunrise." Shadow chuckled at Damien's response.

"_Good, My Prince…_" She whispered, and then she returned to the form of a shadow, before disappearing in a breeze that came from the Prince's open bedroom window. He walked to said window, hand behind his back, and watched as his shadows swarmed through space, spreading themselves amongst the cosmos. Looking out at the small, far away blue planet, a dark chuckle escaped his lips.

"Savor your last few hours, Kinmoku. For soon, your world will be overrun by Shadows."

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"Ohh, this looks so good!" Serena exclaimed, looking through the window of a local pastry shop. Lita sighed.

"Come on, Serena! We're gonna be late to the meeting already because we stopped at the arcade!" The tall brunette called and Serena sighed.

"Why do we even need to have these stupid meeting anyway? Chaos is gone, and there's been no sign of evil in forever!" The blonde girl whined, walking to catch up to her friends.

"Well Serena, you never know. It's a good thing we have these meetings, it assures us that the galaxy is safe and that we have no need to worry." Ami said, smiling at her friend, who sighed.

"Yeah, I know…" Serena replied, grumbling under her breath about the meetings depriving her of food and life.

"Do you guys think that for once, Artemis and Luna may have actually found something?" Mina asked, staring across the street as some cute guys that did not go to their school walked and talked. Lita gave her a gentle shove to knock her out of her trance before she someone injured herself or anyone else.

"Doubt it." The Princess of Jupiter shrugged.

"Well, you never know." Amy pointed out.

"They'd better…" Serena mumbled, day dreaming about the pastry shop behind them.

"But what other evil could there possibly be in the galaxy? It's gotta end sometime, right?" Lita said.

"I guess. But I have a question." Mina piped up.

"Shoot." Lita replied.

"Well, you know the Dark Moon? Well, since we defeated them _now_, we won't have to deal with them in the future, will we?" The Goddess of Love asked. Amy shook her head.

"No, our fight with them is over now." The blue haired Mercurian replied.

"But what about Rini? She came from the future. Does that mean that the future is playing out now in the future while the present plays out now in the present?" The blonde asked.

"Uh…what?" Serena inquired, looking at her friend strangely.

"Well, if Rini came from the future, doesn't that mean that the future is happening now? But in the future? Because the future has to happen for Rini to be able to come back. So while we are here in the past, thinking the past is now, does that mean the future is happening now in the future? While we are here in the past, they are there in the future, and things are happening now here, and now there."

"You lost me." Lita answered. All eyes turned to Amy.

"What?" The smaller girl asked.

"Do you know the answer to my question?" Mina asked.

"Actually, no. That even confuses me…" Amy replied, shrugging.

"Well, there you have it. If Amy doesn't know, more than likely, no one knows." Lita said, and the girls laughed.

"Where did you even come up with that question, Mina?" Serena asked.

"Um…I'm not sure. It was just, you know, there. In my head. And I was curious. Think the others will know?"

"I think you'll even confuse Trista on that, Mina." Amy replied, and the girls laughed again.

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Adina smiled as she ended her shift, walking out the door humming to herself. For once, her day had actually gone right. No overly stuck up customers, no loser guys hitting on her, and no pole up his ass boss to ruin things for her. Yes, for the first time in a very long time, a day had gone positively smoothly for her.

"And something's gonna ruin this, won't it?" She asked herself as she approached her car and rummaged through her purse for her keys. Sadly, she'd woken up late this morning and all the good parking spots had been taken. She'd had to park in a nearby alley. She swore silently when she couldn't find her keys. Dumping the contents of her purse on the hood. After shuffling through the contents for a moment, she found what she was looking for.

"There you are!" She exclaimed quietly, putting the other items back in her purse. She pulled the purse up her arm and grabbed her key in her right hand when a loud growl made her stop in her tracks.

"H-hello? Is someone there?" She asked, turning on a flashlight on her key chain and shining it in the alley way. She didn't see anything, not even a sense of movement. She heard a moan, and quickly ran onto the other side of the car and roughly pushed her key into the lock when another moan sounded. Glancing behind her, she saw a shadow floating, and slowly, the shadow quivered and took form. In its place stood a purple skinned woman, whose skin resembled many small scales, with wild black hair and red eyes. She wore a black knee-length, skin tight dress that seemed to be made of scales. She smiled wickedly and chuckled.

"Black Newt!" She shouted out, lunging at Adina, who shrieked at as high a pitch as she could manage.

"_Ahhhhh!"_

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"Anyways, I'm just saying, all of that future stuff is-" Mina began.

"_Ahhhhh!"_

"What was that?" Serena demanded. The others shrugged, and they ran in the direction of the sound. In the deep parts of an alley, a monster of sorts had a brunette with wide green eyes pinned to a brick wall. Both of their mouths were wide open, and a black energy flowed from the woman's mouth to the monster. Making sure the street was clear, the three girls raised their wands and Serena raised her brooch.

"_Mercury Crystal Power!"_

"_Jupiter Crystal Power!"_

"_Venus Crystal Power!"_

"_Moon Eternal Power!"_

Black Newt back away from the woman and let her body fall lifelessly to the ground. Then the monster turned to look for more victims.

"You there! Who do you think you are?" A voice called. The monster looked into the mouth of the alley way and saw four girls standing there, hands on their hips as they glared at her.

"Black Newt!" The scaled monster shouted back.

"It's wrong to innocently attack people and steal…whatever it is you stole from her! I am Sailor Moon, and I will not allow it! And in the name of the Moon…" She paused for a moment as her friends mimicked her hand gestures.

"We shall punish you!" They said at once.

"Black Water Spiral!" Black Newt shrieked, sending waves of black water at the Senshi who jumped to dodge.

"Jupiter Oak Evolution!"

"Mercury Aqua Rhapsody!"

The attacks went at the monster head on, who didn't have time to dodge. The Senshi smiled when the monster seemed to disappear in a cloud of darkness. When the dark mist vanished, the monster still stood, and the Senshi went into a defensive position.

"Venus Love and Beauty Shock!"

Again, the attack went at the monster directly, and it did little to no damage.

"My turn at this. Starlight Honeymoon Therapy Kiss!" The attack was a shoe in. There was no way it could go wrong. No way Black Newt could survive this. But again, when the black mist cleared, the monster still stood, and it shrieked again.

"How do we destroy this thing?" Venus asked. But no one could answer because Black Newt chose that moment to attack again, and the Senshi were the ones who didn't have time to dodge this time, and they all screamed in pain.

"Black Newt!" The monster shouted out, firing another attack, sending the Senshi back as it hit them dead on. Venus landed on her feet and screamed as her ankle twisted inwards a bit more than it should have and she fell hard on her back. Mercury and Sailor Moon hit the alley wall and screamed in pain before falling face first on the alley way ground. Jupiter was nearly pushed into the alley way opening. On contact with the attack, her body flew threw the air before she landed harshly on her back, crashing back down to the earth. The Soldier of Strength and Lightening struggled to her feet, wiping away the blood on her lip. She crossed her arms.

"Jupiter…Oak…Evolution!" She shouted out, but this time, Black Newt dodged the Senshi's attack and went for an attack of its own, in combat.

The monster landed before her, and punched Sailor Jupiter in the front of her face, mostly hitting her lip and nose. Jupiter staggered and wiped away the blood with her white glove, but didn't get a chance to fight back when Black Newt took its leg and kicked her swiftly in her rib cage, sending her into a nearby alley wall. Jupiter felt herself weaken, and couldn't even bring herself to lift her head. But out of her peripheral vision, she saw Black Newt approach the Senshi closest to it and lift her up by the throat. The Senshi just happened to be Sailor Mercury.

**-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-**

"So, where is this Cherry Hill Temple?" Leilani asked Noelle, who was reading about attractions in the city.

"Well, we make a right at the next corner, go a couple blocks up, and then-"

"_AHHHHH!" _Four voices screeched in pain. The two exchanged a glance before nodding.

The turned left and ran full speed ahead until they reached an alley where a purple monster was fighting four Senshi.

"The Sol Senshi!" Leilani hissed. The two exchanged another look before running into the covers of the trees. Leilani raised a jewel around her neck. The jewel was a black sun rimmed with gold with fifteen blue tentacles streaming from it.

"_Celestial Divine Power!"_

She shouted, and she was engulfed in golden ribbons that slithered around her body, forming her uniform base. Spinning in a full circle, a skirt formed its way around her body with a collar. She ran her left hand from the finger tips on her right hand up to her right elbow, and a glove formed. She did the same to her other arm. With her right leg slightly over top of the other, she reached down and dragged both her hands up to her thighs, and boots formed that stopped at the knees. With another spin, a tiara formed on her head, and the gold light grew brighter, and when it vanished, there she stood in her Senshi form. In her hand was a long and golden glaive, laced with red.

"_Eclipse Angelic Power!"_

She shouted, raising her necklace piece, which was a blue crystal that had a symbol of a darkened moon and a darkened sun. A light blue ring wrapped around her ribs, separating and creating two separate wings, one going up and the other going down, creating the base of her uniform. She spun in the blue light, and her skirt and collar appeared. Crossing her arms over her head and flipping backwards formed her gloves and boots. Clearing her bangs from her face, her tiara formed.

"Give me your Shadow Energy!" Black Newt hissed, grabbing the throat of a now weakened Sailor Mercury, who struggled feebly against her. The blue haired Senshi grabbed the monsters slime covered arm and tried to claw her way free, but she released her grip when she felt herself go light-headed from lack of oxygen. Black Newt opened her mouth, lowering her face to Sailor Mercury's-

"In the shadows of the night, the clouds disperse and the heavens shine through…"

"Even hidden, the powers of the sun and moon are great, vanquishing the concealed evil…"

"We defend the light and the integrity of the Universe…"

"And we destroy the shadows and banish the darkness…"

Black Newt and the four Solar System Senshi looked up in the direction of the sounds of the alternating voices, and saw two shadowed figures standing back to back on a nearby rooftop. The light befell them, showing two figures to be two Senshi.

"I am Sailor Celestia, Soldier of Harmony and Light, and defender of the Heavens." The first one who had spoken said. Her hair was long and dropped to her knees, her eyes brown. Her skirt and collar were red. On her collar were two yellow stripes. Under her skirt was a transparent yellow layer. Her front and back bows were yellow. In the center of the yellow bow was a red, heart shaped crystal. Her choker was red with a yellow heart. Her gloves went up to her elbows and were red rimmed with a yellow ribbon around her wrists. Her shoulder pads were a transparent red. Her boots were knee high and red with yellow ribbons around her ankles. On her golden tiara was a small red heart, similar to the ones hanging from her ears.

"I am Sailor Eclipse, Soldier of Frost and Hidden Secrets. I am the holder of night and day." The second speaker said. Her hair was wavy and went to her mid back and her eyes were an icy blue. Her skirt and collar were black with two light blue stripes on her collar. Under her skirt was a transparent baby blue layer. Both her front and back bows here blue, and in the center of her front bow was a black star. Her choker was black with a small blue star. Her shoulder pads were transparent and light blue. The gloves went up to her forearm and were rimmed black with blue ribbons. On her golden tiara was a blue star, and her earrings were small blue hearts.

"And we are…The Sailor Guardians Angels!" The two shouted. Jumping from the rooftop, they stood before the monster.

"In the name of the heavens…" Celestia began.

"And the Sun and the Moon…" Eclipse continued.

"We will punish you!"

"Black Water Spiral!" The purple skinned monster shouted, and the two Senshi dodged the attack effortlessly.

"Diamond Siege!" Eclipse shouted out, shooting thousands of sharp diamonds at the shadow creature, who howled in pain. Celestia raised her glaive.

"Power Spark!" The red and yellow Senshi cried, moving her staff around her without touching it and then pointing it directly at the monster, and it fired a small spark. The spark lodged into the center of the monster and it grew. The purple monster shrieked as the powerful ball of energy grew and eventually tore the body apart, and in one last antagonizing scream, Black Newt disappeared into a fading ball of light.

"It is nice to know our powers haven't weakened on this planet." Eclipse said, and Celestia nodded. Then she remembered something and turned to look at the Sol Senshi, who were still quite winded from the attack.

"Are you all alright?" The taller Senshi asked, walking over to help Sailor Moon to her feet.

"I'm alright…what was that thing?" She asked, looking at the place where the shadow monster had just stood. The Soldier of Love and Justice retained injuries, even if they weren't that serious. There were scratches all of over her face and her hair was falling out of the Odangos on top of her head and all over the place. When she walked, she limped slightly on her left leg, and she held her left arm in pain.

"A Shadow Demon." Eclipse replied.

"Then this means…" Celestia began, but she didn't have the heart to finish. She didn't want to know the answer.

"That Thalia is completely destroyed." Eclipse finished, and Celestia felt tears brim in her eyes. Eclipse had to struggle to keep her own composure.

"No…" The other Senshi whispered, leaning on Eclipse for support.

"Should we make our moves now?" Eclipse asked. Celestia took a shaky breath before leaning to whisper into her ear.

"No…not yet. We shall follow them." The lead Guardian Angel Senshi whispered, and Eclipse nodded.

"Are any of you seriously injured?" The blue eyed girl asked, looking at the four girls who seemed to be inspecting each others injuries.

"No…we're alright." Sailor Jupiter replied, helping steady Venus on her feet. Venus had a large cut across her forehead from one of Black Newt's attacks, and she held a gloved hand to it in order to stop, or at least slow down, the bleeding. Her fuku was torn on her left side, and her golden hair was mattered with dirt and grime. She supported herself on Jupiter's shoulder as she limped a bit on her right leg. Sailor Jupiter's brown hair was falling our of his ponytail, and blood trickled down her lower lip.

"That thing was tough…" Venus said, her breathing uneven. Celestia nodded.

"They are. And they will only continue to become more difficult." The brown eyed Thalia Senshi replied.

"We warn you now, Sol Senshi, be prepared. The forces in the Realm of Shadows are rising up, becoming more powerful with each planet they take. It be best that you all take caution." Eclipse warned. The sound of a moan made them all turn and they watched as the black energy the Shadow Demon had sucked out of Adina was returned to her. The woman groaned.

"I suppose it is time we take our leave." Celestia said, and with that, she and Eclipse jumped on a nearby rooftop.

"I guess we should leave too." Mercury commented, staggering to keep her balance. She felt weak, cuts and bruises covering her smooth and fair skin.

Adina shakily rose to her feet and looked around the alley in confusion. The Sol Senshi had ducked behind some dumpsters in the alley to avoid being seen. The woman finally seemed to grasp what had happened to her and she ran out onto the sidewalk, frantically screaming for police. In her panic, she had failed to notice the poorly hidden Senshi, who now sneaked behind Adina's parked car and de-transformed back into their normal forms. After a time of training, Luna had taught them how to also use their transformations and de-transformations for healing. Something that came in good use at this moment, seeing as two of the Senshi would be unable to walk the rest of the way to the temple if they were limping.

"Well, it looks like we have a new enemy on the horizon." Mina said, looking up at the rooftop Celestia and Eclipse had hopped on.

"It appears we do…and maybe some new allies as well." Amy replied.

"Well, at least now we'll have something important to talk about at the meeting." Lita commented, and with that, the four friends quickly made their way onto the sidewalk and ran towards Cherry Hill Temple.

**-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O**

"I knew it!" Celestia hissed, and Eclipse nodded in agreement.

"Yes, it appears we have found four of the Sol Senshi. And I presume the others will be at this meeting." Eclipse replied, and Celestia nodded.

"I guess that means we ought to get going." Celestia replied, and with that, they jumped back into the alley way and de-transformed.

"Are we ready to face them?" Noelle asked, turning to her Princess with wide eyes. Leilani smiled gently back at her.

"Thalia is gone, Noelle. We must protect the rest of the Universe. It is our duty." The taller girl pointed out, and Noelle nodded.

"Then I guess its now or never."

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**Jazz: And chapter two…is complete!**

**Layla: Moral of this chapter-Always pay attention to your surroundings when your de-transforming from being a Sailor Senshi. Cuz you never know whose watching!**

**Emma: I wouldn't call that a moral, but I'll go with it.**

**Kelsey: Anyways, hope you guys liked!**

**Aqua: Tell us how much you liked it by reviewing!**

**Kelsey: And even if you didn't like…well, tell us why you didn't like it! But NO FLAMES! Just…suggestions.**

**Jazz: Anyways, lots of love to all you guys, and all you Darien fans, don't you worry, he'll appear soon enough! **_**Please Review!**_** R&R!**


	4. A Meeting to Remember

**Sailor Moon: The Shadow Arc**

**Disclaimer: Third times the charm. Do I own Sailor Moon? Ye-**

***ahem!***

**No….**

**Chapter 3: A Meeting to Remember**

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**Layla: And now…the much awaited chapter 3!**

**Aqua: Not much drama here, but you all will get a good history on the events that take place with our new characters!**

**Kelsey: And a bit more importance will be drawn from Kinmoku, so be ready for some action from your favorite Starlights!**

**Emma: Guys, giving too much away again! Jeez, what do I have to do, duct tape you two?**

**Jazz: Anyways, we hope you enjoy the chap, see you guys at the end!**

**-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-**

"Their even later than usual." A black cat with a yellow crescent moon on her forehead said. A white cat beside her with a similar symbol nodded.

"Well of course their late, they're with Serena." A girl replied. Her hair was long and raven black, and her eyes were a strange brown-purple color.

"I know Raye, but don't you think they'd be here already?" The white cat asked. A small girl, who appeared to be about twelve, with shoulder length black hair and purple eyes stood.

"I agree with Luna and Artemis. They'd be here by now, something must be wrong." The young girl piped up, and she got nods of agreement.

"I think we should go look for them." Michelle said from her seat beside Amara, who nodded.

"Even _Kitten _would never dream of being this late." The blonde woman agreed.

"Michelle, Amara, Hotaru and I will go look for them. Raye, you wait here with Luna and Artemis." A tall woman with long green hair and red eyes ordered. All of the mentioned nodded, and the four Outer Senshi made their way to the steps to leave the Cherry Hill Shrine, the same four girls they were leaving to search for bounded their way up the steps.

"Found them…" Hotaru sang.

"Hey, you guys are really late!" Raye pointed out, shaking her head at the girls.

"Trust me, we have a really good reason." Lita replied, plopping down beside the raven haired girl. The other three sat with them as the four Outers went back to their seats.

"We were just about to come looking for you guys, Kitten. What happened?" Amara asked, leaning forward.

"You'll never believe it!" Serena began, and she went to recount the events that had just taken place.

**-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O**

"How do we go about something like this?" Leilani asked, hiding in the bushes of the Cherry Hill Temple. Her voice was low, and none of the Sol Senshi seemed to be able to hear her.

"How difficult could it possibly be?" Noelle scoffed, trying to see a positive note.

"You're so right, Noelle. We should just walk up and say, 'Hey, our planet was just destroyed and the whole Universe will be too soon if you don't help us. Oh, and sorry we didn't tell you at first, hope we can work this out!'" Leilani snapped, her voice dripping with sarcasm.

"Well, you didn't have to be so mean about it…" Noelle pointed out, and Leilani rolled her eyes.

"I think we should just be honest with them." Leilani confessed. Noelle put her hands on her hips.

"So we were going to lie our way through this?" She hissed. Leilani shushed her.

"Of course not! I just think we shouldn't be to upfront about it. Isn't there a way we can introduce ourselves and our cause to them and _not _have them freak out?" Leilani asked. Noelle shrugged.

"No time like the present." Noelle replied, and with that, she grabbed Leilani's hand and dragged her out of their hiding spots.

**-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O**

"Then these two new Senshi we've never seen before came. They called themselves the-"

"Guardian Angel Senshi of Thalia." A new voice interrupted the conversation. All heads turned as Noelle entered the scene from behind a set of bushes, dragging a worried looking Leilani with them. The Sol Senshi all exchanged worried glances. All except Trista, who looked at Leilani with wide eyes.

"Leilani…Noelle…how much did you guys here?" Serena asked.

"All of it." Leilani replied sheepishly. All of the Sol Senshi became very worried then. But Amy realized something.

"You knew about the Thalia Senshi. You had to have been there to know." The blue haired girl exclaimed. This time, it was Noelle and Leilani who exchanged a look.

"Or…" Noelle prompted. None of the Senshi made a move to finish her sentence.

"Or were _are _the Guardian Senshi of Thalia" Leilani concluded, and a silence befell the thirteen beings at the temple.

"No way…" Mina whispered. Noelle smiled knowingly.

"Way."

"But you guys…you couldn't be…" Serena began, but she wasn't sure what to say.

"Need some proof?" Leilani asked, crossing her arms and grabbing the necklace. Amara narrowed her eyes.

"Yeah, we do." The woman replied. None of the Son Senshi knew what to do if Noelle and Leilani weren't Senshi themselves, because they had no way of knowing how to make sure they'd never tell their secret. Noelle and Leilani exchanged another glance before easily removing their jewels from their necklaces and holding them up high.

"_Celestial Divine Power!"_

"_Eclipse Angelic Power!"_

And there before them stood the mighty Guardian Angel Senshi of Thalia, Sailor Celestia and Sailor Eclipse. They smiled back at the Sol Senshi.

"Believe us now?" Eclipse asked, hands on her hips. The Sol Senshi nodded, and with that, the two girls de-transformed.

"It _is _you…" Trista whispered, and all eyes turned to her.

"Momma Trista…do you know them?" Hotaru asked quietly, and Trista blinked out of her trance and awkwardly cleared her throat before standing up and bowing before Leilani.

"Princess Celestia, it has been a long time since I last saw you. I hope Queen Sahara fairs well?" And with that question, the smile on Leilani's face vanished and her hand found its way to the necklace jewel she used to transform. She absentmindedly played with it, and Noelle stepped up.

"I am sorry to tell you, Pluto, but Queen Sahara died in the raids of the Shadows." The girl replied, and a guilty look crossed Trista's face.

"I'm so sorry." The woman said, her sympathy was genuine. One year. Sahara had told her and Serenity that she had no intentions of winning, and now she knew why. Sahara had no intention of coming out of the battle alive. Leilani offered her a small smile.

"It's all right, Pluto, you had no way of knowing." Leilani replied, and Trista nodded, slowly sitting back down and mentally reflected on memories between her and the formally believed to be immortal Queen of the Heavens and Universe.

"Why are you all here on Earth?" Amara asked, placing one leg atop the other knee. Noelle and Leilani exchanged a look.

"This is a long story, may as well make yourselves comfortable." Noelle said, slowly sitting down across from the Sol Senshi. Leilani followed her example and cleared her throat.

"Thirteen years ago, when I was just a girl of two years, the Shadows attacked for the first time. They swarmed Thalia, and attacked our people mercilessly. The battle was long and hard, and only those who took refuge in the Divine Palace survived. The rest were killed, but many gave up their souls to the Shadows, deciding it would be better to live under evil than die for their planet. Using the power of the Divine Crystal," Leilani again subconsciously played with the necklace. "My mother, Queen Sahara, banished the darkness and sealed the Shadows into a crystal and sent the crystal drifting into space, to find its way to the Moon Kingdom, so that it would be under the protection of Queen Serenity. Thalia was rebuilt and life went on as it should.

"But the Negaverse attack ruined it all. With Queen Serenity's death, the crystal drifted into space again, and this time, it was found by Chaos. But the crystal wouldn't open for Chaos, so it was given up on. But when Sailor Moon defeated Galaxia, the light and power that emitted was enough to destroy the spell on the crystal, and the Shadows were released. I myself, as a Princess, was betrothed to marry a Prince at a young age. His name is Prince Damien, Prince of the Skies. One of the Three Princes of the Universe. But I refused, even though it seemed the Prince had fallen in love with me." Leilani nodded to Noelle to continue.

"Leilani still refused to marry him, believing in marriage in love. Whether from betrothal, it is destiny, or whatever other reason, Leilani strongly believes that a marriage must be built on love, friendship, and trust. She felt none of these for Prince Damien, and he wallowed in a sort of depression. The Shadows chose this time of weakness in the Prince to try and overtake his body, promising to win him the Princess' affections. Damien foolishly agreed, and the Shadows took over his body, merging with his soul.

"Prince Damien and the Shadows launched another attack on Thalia. But they had the power of the Dark Crystal Queen Sahara had sealed them in, the Shadow Crystal. They used its power to enhance their army, and the Shadows descended upon us. Leilani gave the Divine Crystal to her brother, Prince Satori, and made sure he was safe and would survive," Noelle paused as she watched Leilani's grip around the necklace tighten. "But we didn't have time to find the Queen. She died in the fifth onslaught."

"Fifth? How many were there all together?" Amy asked.

"Twenty-eight total attacks. There was hardly a four hour rest between each, because even Shadows need to replenish their energy. But they were too strong. No matter how hard we fought, there never seemed to be an end to them. We had a total group of eleven Senshi, including myself and Leilani. But we lost six of them…and we had to leave. Leilani, Celestia…she's our Princess, and we couldn't afford to lose her. So, I was sent to come here with her and seek the help of the Sol Senshi."

"But that leaves three of you. What happened to them?" Michelle inquired.

"Our three other Senshi went to seek the help of other Senshi. The Sailor Starlights." Leilani replied, and the Sol Senshi exchanged looks with one another.

"So, the Starlights are coming back?" Mina asked, leaning forward. The other Senshi leaned forward also a bit to hear the answer.

"If all goes well, and I have a feeling it will, yes, the Starlights will be joining us here on Earth to ready ourselves for the attack of the Shadows." Noelle answered. Mina smiled and leaned back, a happy and self satisfied twinkle in her eye.

"When are they coming?" Serena asked, her heart soaring at the thought of seeing her three friends again.

"We're not exa-" Leilani began.

"Soon. I can feel it, very,_ very _soon." Noelle interrupted. All turned to her with wide eyes.

"How do you know?" Leilani asked. She was just as confused about this as the Sol Senshi.

"I am Sailor Eclipse, Soldier of Ice and Hidden Secrets. I can feel it, the Shadows will soon be advancing on Kinmoku." Noelle explained. Leilani's eyes widened.

"Why didn't you say something before? They may be in danger, or-"

"I didn't need to. I know our girls, and they'll be out of there before any of them get seriously hurt. As for the planet itself, it will be destroyed. Just like Thalia." Noelle replied. Leilani frowned.

"So…there's nothing we can do?"

"No, there's not."

"Well…we still have a few questions for you." Mina cut in. The two Guardian Angel Senshi returned their attention to the meeting at hand.

"Of course. What else would you like to know?" Leilani shifted a bit.

"Well, for one, you mentioned a Prince Satori. Who is that?" Lita asked.

"My younger brother. He's three years younger than me, making him thirteen." Leilani replied. Lita nodded.

"You said he's safe, but you're whole planet was destroyed. How is that possible?" Michelle asked. Leilani smiled awkwardly before averting her gaze to the ground.

"That's another one of our problems. You see, Leilani loves her brother very much, she is very protective of him and the two are extremely close. So when the attacks began, Leilani did give him the powerful Divine Crystal, but she also sealed him inside the Celestial Jewel of the royal family that she wears around her neck." Noelle answered for the girl. Serena blinked.

"Then he's safe. So what's the problem?" The Moon Princess asked. Leilani sighed.

"I used an enchantment spell on it. I can't get him out." The girl replied, not meeting the other's gazes.

"Spell? So, you have…other magical powers?" Raye questioned. Noelle smiled.

"The Royal Family of Thalia is _very _special." She replied, her smile growing. Raye nodded.

"You said there were 'Three Princes' of the Universe.' Who are they?" The next question came from the young Hotaru. Leilani looked at the girl and smiled.

"I think you and Pandora will get along swimmingly…" She murmured. Hotaru blinked in confusion.

"What?" The purple eyes girl tilted her head a bit. Leilani blinked rapidly.

"Oh, nothing." Noelle rolled her eyes at Leilani's response.

"There are Three Princes of the Universe. One is the Prince of the Skies, Prince Damien. Or I should say he was, for now he prefers to be called the Prince of Shadows. The second Prince will be crowned in three years time, Satori, Prince of the Heavens. The last Prince, but I'm sure you know him, he is named-"

"Sorry I'm late!" A new voice called. All eyes turned as a tall man with short black hair and blue eyes walked up the steps, smiling. A wide smile broke out on Serena's face.

"Darien!" She exclaimed, gesturing to a seat beside her she had saved just for him. Darien nodded and went to her, looking at the two new girls strangely.

"Hey, Serena, guys. Who're they?" He asked, gesturing towards Leilani and Noelle. Noelle's eyes narrowed and a hiss escaped Leilani's lips.

"There are our friends, Leilani and Noelle. Their Senshi." Serena replied, leaning on Darien a bit. He nodded.

"Nice to meet you, I'm-"

"Prince Darien, Prince of Earth. We know quite well who you are." Noelle snapped. Darien blinked, and Leilani growled.

"He looks too much like him…" The girl hissed, and Noelle nodded.

"What're you talking about?" Lita asked, looking at her new…friends, who never took their eyes off of Darien.

"_His _blood runs through this one's veins…" Leilani whispered.

"They look so much a like it makes me want to kill him." Noelle growled.

"Whoa, what's wrong with you two?" Serena asked, standing in front of Darien, who looked around her at the two new girls in shock.

"He looks just like him!" Leilani exclaimed, jumping to her feet. Noelle followed her example.

"Who's _he?"_ Amara asked, also standing. Noelle spared her a glance.

"Damien. This one, this _Prince of Earth_, is the brother of the Prince of Shadows."

**-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-**

Sailor Star Healer and Sailor Pandora were walking through a meadow near the palace, talking about lives on their planets and what growing up was like for them.

"And that was when I was told I was Sailor Pandora, Guardian of Princess Saturn and Sailor of Annihilation and Devotion." Pandora finished. Healer nodded.

"Thalia sounds like a great place." She said at last. She didn't really want to ask what she meant by 'Annihilation', but it wasn't her business anyways. Pandora smiled.

"It is…was. I wish you could've seen it. It's a wonderful place." Pandora sighed. Healer placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Who knows? Maybe one day, I will be able to go there." The silver haired Starlight replied.

"I'd like that." Pandora whispered, and she hugged Healer. The Starlight wasn't sure how to react at first, but after a moment, she hugged the girl back. They let go of each other a moment later and resumed their walk.

"So, when are we leaving?" Healer asked, putting her hands behind her head as she walked. Pandora shrugged.

"As worried as I am about the Shadows, I doubt Damien has become insane enough to come after us already." The small Thalia Senshi answered.

"It destroyed your planet, yet you say its coming after you?"

"Pretty much. I mean…Damien wants Leilani. That's no secret. And the Shadows will drive him mad and he will search for us across the Solar System. And I doubt that Damien is intelligent enough to figure out we are here on Kinmoku." She replied absentmindedly. Healer arched a brow.

"But there _is _a chance they'll attack her next." Healer deciphered. Pandora shrugged again.

"There's always a chance, Healer. We aren't the enemy, we don't know where their planning on attacking." Pandora said. Healer heard the silent 'but' in her sentence.

"You're leaving something out." The Starlight pointed out. Pandora bit her lip.

"Well…I guess you could call her the Shadow Queen…" Pandora began.

"Shadow Queen? Who's she?" Healer asked, slowing their pace. Pandora matched hers.

"We know her name is Shadow, and that she has a great ability, but nothing more than that." The short Thalia Senshi shrugged. Healer was beginning to grow impatient.

"And that ability is…" Pandora sighed again.

"She has…knowledge, I'd guess you say. She knows about all the Senshi of the Universe. And she has a certain knack for guessing where her enemy is, which is how she found Celestia and Eclipse, and the three of us, who were hidden in a safe house part of the castle. She almost always seems to know where Celestia's Senshi are."

"So she could be leading them here right now?" Healer demanded. Pandora winced at the Starlights anger, but nodded.

"Why didn't you say anything before?"

"I didn't think I'd still be here! Our mission was to come here and bring you with us to Earth, where we should be by now! I had no way of knowing your Princess would be tagging along, or that the Shadows would advance through Thalia so quickly! It wasn't a part of our mission to actually befriend you or get to know you, damn it! My Princess may be dead, everyone I know is gone, and the whole fate of the Universe could be at hand and you blame me! And you know what? Maybe _you _should try doing some of the thinking yourself! I'm stressed, okay? I lost my sisters back there, everything I love is gone _forever_ and there's nothing I can do about it!" Pandora snapped, and a Shadow grew from her body, flaring into the sky. Her eyes flashed a blood red, before clicking back almost immediately to a light amethyst. Healer wasn't sure whether or not to be more shocked by Pandora's outburst or the Shadow that had just emerged from the small girls body. She figured the Shadow was a lot weirder.

"What…was that…?" Healer whispered, and Pandora shook her head and her breath caught.

"I didn't mean it, I swear!" She said suddenly, Healer grew very suspicious. Both were distracted by the sound of footsteps coming towards them, and turned to see Fighter and Titania, followed by Comet and Healer. The four slowed to a stop when they approached the two Senshi.

"We saw the Shadow flare and wanted to make sure everything was alright." Maker explained. Comet and Titania looked around.

"There are no Shadows here…" Comet observed. She and Titania turned to Pandora.

"You didn't…" Titania murmured. Pandora nodded sheepishly. Her eyes widened.

"Oh shit…" Comet whispered. Titania jumped into action.

"Fighter, Healer, Maker, get your Princess and get ready to leave." She ordered. The three Starlights looked at her incredulously.

"Why?" Fighter asked, crossing her arms. Comet shook her head.

"No time to explain." The blonde Senshi replied. Fighter narrowed her eyes.

"We are not moving until we know what's going on." Fighter explained, and Titania and Comet turned to Pandora, who still had her eyes downcast.

"They have to find out eventually, Pandora." Titania pointed out.

"Find out what?" Healer asked. Pandora took a shaky breath.

"I wasn't…completely honest with you before. There's a reason Shadow,…Queen Shadow, always knows where we are. She can…find me. When I get too…overly emotional…I send off a Shadow flare." Pandora explained.

"Why do _you _send off this flare?" Maker inquired, hands on her hips. Pandora sighed.

"It's because…I'm her daughter. Shadow blood courses through my veins." Pandora closed her eyes, afraid of their judgment. The three Starlights jaws dropped, their mouths gaping and their eyes opened wide.

"You're…one of them?" Healer took a step back. Pandora held a hand to her chest.

"No, I'm not!" Pandora insisted. Healer narrowed her eyes.

"Yes, you are! You're one of those Shadow beings!" Healer insisted.

"No, I'm just their daughter! I am loyal to Princess Celestia, to Thalia, and to the Divine Palace and the Royal Family!" Pandora shouted. Healer shook her head.

"You are _Queen Shadow's daughter._ You are the Princess of Shadows." Healer stated, and Pandora snapped for the third time that day.

"You don't think I know that? I have been dejected all my life because of that factor, something I can not change! Celestia and my Senshi are all I've ever had, and they'll die soon if we don't get help! Please…if not for them, for the Sol Senshi…for Kakyuu…for Kinmoku…the Universe…we need you to help us save them…" Pandora pleaded, sinking to her knees and crying. Titania reached down to comfort her.

"Please, help us. I'm not asking as a friend or a girl, I'm asking as Sailor Comet, Sailor of Combat and Terrain. I come to you, weak and ready to beg, please help us…" The blonde Senshi whispered, hand held close to her heart. Fighter reached out for her when something in the distance caught her eyes. It looked like a meteor shower, except the meteors were black. And they were speeding towards Kinmoku, not slowing down a bit. And there were thousands of them.

"Oh no…" Fighter murmured. Comet and Titania followed her line of sight.

"Get Kakyuu…_now_." Titania ordered again. No one needed to be told twice, and Maker was off in search of her Princess.

"What about Kinmoku?" Healer demanded. All of these people would die…after all their hard work in rebuilding the planet, it was all for naught…Comet's eyes widened. She knelt down before her still sobbing friend.

"Pandora, listen to me. I love you sweetheart, I really do, but you need to pull yourself together. We need your power to save this planets life forms." Comet pleaded. "But you must hurry, the Shadows are nearly upon us!"

At that, Pandora's crying quickly slowed and soon ceased all together. She stood up and looked at the sky where the Shadows were hurtling at them, and forced her mouth into a tight line before nodding. She turned to Healer.

"Get me to the highest point on Kinmoku, and fast." She said. Healer nodded and grabbed her hand before taking off. Fighter and Titania watched as they left, then turned back to the approaching Shadows.

"What now?" Fighter asked, already holding her Star Yell in a tight grip.

"We fight, but if Pandora's gonna be successful, we must keep the Shadows from touching Kinmoku period. Don't let them hit the planet." Titania explained. Fighter nodded and the two stood, ready for battle.

**-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O**

"What are you talking about?" Amara demanded. Leilani didn't falter.

"Him. Darien. One of the three Princes. One is Prince of the Heavens, Prince Satori, Prince of the Shadows, Prince Damien, and Prince of Earth, Prince Darien. Darien and Damien are brothers." The girl explained, her glare never leaving the Prince of Earth. Darien narrowed his eyes at her and stood.

"I've never even heard of this Damien!" He objected. Noelle growled.

"Oh, but we have. We _knew_ him. And we _know_ you're his brother. His blood runs through you veins." Noelle hissed in reply. Darien roughly grabbed Serena by her shoulders and moved her aside. Then he stepped so he stood towering over the two girls, who stood directly side by side. Her glowered down at them.

"I don't know who this _Prince of Shadows _is. Nor do I know who you two are. But don't question my place again." He scowled, and Leilani looked ready to lounge at him.

"Little Prince, you obviously don't know who I am. Do not question me, again, and don't snap at me. Or I can assure you, your crown will be squeezed around your neck!" The Princess of the Universe and Heavens threatened. Darien shook his head.

"I don't need this. Senshi or not, you have no right to speak to _me_, future King of Earth, like this. Serena, I'll call you later." He threw over his shoulder as he descended the steps of the Cherry Hill Temple.

"What was that all about?" Serena demanded, and the two Thalia Senshi turned to her, now calmed down a bit from their explosive fury.

"_That _was about the Realm of Shadows and their Prince. Who is the Prince of Earth to you?" Noelle asked, taking her seat again. Leilani sat to her right.

"He is our future King, future husband of Serena, and future father of Rini." Raye replied, defending the Prince of Earth. Leilani scoffed.

"_Future _everything. But he is nothing now, is he?" She replied sarcastically.

"Hey, watch what you say about Darien! We were together in the past, the present, and we will be in the future! I love him!" Serena exclaimed. At that, Noelle suddenly stood up and walked until she was nose to nose with Serena.

"Open to me your heart and mind, give me a glimpse into your soul." She whispered, and Serena's eyes faded black while Noelle's turned white. Amara jumped to grab the girl but Leilani stood in her way.

"Noelle knows what she's doing. Serena will be fine." She assured. Amara stopped trying to push past the girl, and all eyes watched the two girls standing so still before them. After a moment of tense silence, the color returned to Noelle's eyes and Serena's. Serena blinked rapidly and stared at Noelle strangely.

"What did you do to me?" She asked, her voice barely above a hoarse whisper.

"I entered your soul, saw things the way you see them. And I can see that you love many. Your family, your friends…you have a very big heart, Serena. And you love them all very much. But I see a shadow beside Darien." Noelle explained. Serena tiled her head.

"A shadow beside Darien…? Who, or what, is it?" The blonde haired Soldier of Love and Justice asked. Noelle shrugged.

"It is but a shadowed figure. But I feel it, you are uncertain of your feelings for this one." Noelle replied. That was when Amara decided to step in.

"And just how do you know all this?" The Senshi of Sky and Fury asked, crossing her arms, and Leilani stood off to her side.

"Noelle is Sailor Eclipse, Sailor of Hidden Power and Secrets. She can read into people's hearts and souls, see power they are destined to have and some secrets hidden deep inside of us and the Universe." Leilani explained, putting a hand on Noelle's shoulder. Noelle nodded to confirm what she'd said.

"But that doesn't explain the shadow she saw beside Darien." Michelle pointed out. Noelle nodded.

"Could it be like our new enemy? From the Realm of Shadows that you mentioned?" Lita asked, crossing her arms over her legs.

"Oh, no, its not one of the Shadows of Prince Damien. I can't feel whether its male or female…I just see a bright light, like the light of a star. Its bright…it moves me like a musical melody would. Just as Serena's light does.. Its power is great and is soon to increase. But I can't tell who or what it is…" Noelle replied. Amara shook her head.

"I'm not convinced." She said. Noelle and Leilani exchanged sidelong glances.

"You don't need to be. We can understand you wanting to be loyal to your future King. But Princess Serena, heed our warning. Be wary of the future King. He has the blood of the Shadows coursing through his veins. And with the Shadow Crystal reaching its full power, he will fall into a dark madness. Please, be careful." Leilani said quietly, but her voice carried on the wind, so each of the Senshi heard her warning clearly. None nodded, no one made a move to agree, so she and Noelle made their way down the Temple steps. That was when Serena realized something.

"Wait, Leilani! Noelle!" The two girls turned to look at the blonde.

"Its…my name, its Princess Serenity. Not Princess Serena." Serena said quietly. A small smile graced Leilani's lips, and she shook her head. She looked at Noelle, who smiled at Serena.

"No, you are not Princess Serenity. That was a past life of you. You have a new heart now, a new soul. You are Princess Serena, yet at the same time, you are just plain old Serena Tsukino." Noelle replied.

"Never forget who you are, past Princess of the Moon." Leilani murmured, but Serena still heard. She watched silently as the two Guardian Angel Senshi of Thalia walked down the remaining steps of the Cherry Hill Temple, and then disappear around a corner. Slowly, she made her way back to her Senshi, and she sat down, and thought about what they said.

"Should we…listen to them?" Mina asked quietly. Amara shook her head.

"No, they have no idea what they're talking about. They don't know Darien like we do, and they don't know everything about the Silver Millennium like we do. Or Crystal Tokyo." The Senshi of Uranus replied.

"They may not know everything about Crystal Tokyo, but they do know of the Silver Millennium." Trista cut in. All eyes turned to her.

"But how is that possible, Mama Trista? Their only a little older than I am." Hotaru turned to the Senshi of Time and Space, her violet eyes open wide.

"That's just it. Queen Sahara loved her children dearly and their Senshi, they were like her own daughters they were so close to Celestia. So when she heard that her daughter would be the only Princess still alive until they were all reborn on Earth, she froze them all in a deep sleep in crystal chambers. Right after Prince Satori was born he was also placed into the deep sleep. Celestia and her Senshi were reawakened thirteen years ago. Right after the Shadow Wars was when the Negaverse attacked the Moon Kingdom. That was when Queen Sahara sealed them into their deep sleep." Trista explained.

"So, what does that mean? Celestia's missed out on…however long it took for us to be reincarnated in life?" Raye asked. Trista nodded.

"That must be so harsh…she's missed out on who knows how many years of her life…her mother died…she has her brother trapped in a necklace, her whole planet is destroyed, she's lost many of her Senshi, and the man she is, or was, engaged to is the one who destroyed her family and killed her world…no wonder she seems so cold to Darien. Its bad enough his brother is the same man who caused her so much pain…but they also look alike." Mina said, biting her lower lip. Serena and Hotaru nodded.

"But none of that gives them any right to come here and try and turn us against our Prince." Amara objected.

"Well, maybe we could take some of their advice…" Amy suggested.

And so began a debate on whether they could trust the Senshi of Thalia, and their warnings, or if they should ignore them.

**-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O**

"Do you think they will listen to us?" Noelle asked as the girls re-entered their hotel room. Their entire walk back had been in a tense silence, neither exactly sure what to say about the meeting with the Sol Senshi.

"I'm not sure, Noelle. We can only hope our message got through to some of them." Leilani replied, sitting down on a couch. She leaned forward, knees apart and her hands intertwined between her knees. Noelle sat in front of her and placed her hand over her Princess', and then smiled up at the girl.

"Even without the Sol Senshi, I can promise you Leilani, My Princess Celestia, we will free Prince Satori, and find a way to save Thalia and the rest of the Universe." The girl promised, pecking her Princess on the lips. Of course, Leilani returned the faint, chaste kiss. Leilani scrunched up her nose as Noelle leaned away.

"I never understood that gesture with the Royal Family on Thalia." She confessed, and Noelle giggled, moving so she sat next to Leilani.

"Neither did I. But its like a passed down tradition among the Royal Family and their Senshi. Your mother's Senshi kissed her, and her mother's Senshi kissed her. It's just something we do, I suppose. But don't worry, its only done by the Leader of the Princess' Senshi."

"Oh, that makes me feel better." Leilani rolled her eyes. Noelle giggled.

"Well, don't you worry, Princess. I do love you, as my Princess and as my friend and sister, but no more, no less. I trust you feel the same?"

"Oh, most certainly."

"Besides, I once had a love…" Noelle's voice trailed off, and Leilani laid her arm across the girl's shoulders.

"I'm so sorry about Hunter, Noelle…but he was taken to the darkness by his Prince. I wish there was something I could do for you two, but…" Leilani said quietly, leaning on her long time friend. Noelle gave a sad, dry chuckle.

"I suppose it just wasn't meant to be. You know what they say, Leilani. If your love is forced into the Realm of Shadows by his mentally insane Prince and turns evil against you, its time you forget about him." And with that, she and Leilani burst into true, joy filled laughter together.

"But it really is tragic, what happened to you two. You were both so in love…" Leilani murmured, and Noelle turned to her.

"Better to have love and lost then never to have loved at all." The girl said. Leilani turned to her.

"And just what are you trying to say?" She asked, her voice filled with mock shock.

"That even though I lost my love to the Shadows, at least I _have _loved. You have yet to meet someone you love." Noelle pointed out. Leilani smirked.

"Don't forget, I did once love someone." Leilani said quietly. Noelle frowned.

"But we lost our loves in a different way. I've seen mine…but he's not the man I fell in love with. His soul was given to the darkness. Yours was…no one will ever see him again." Leilani sighed at Noelle's statement.

"I know…but it probably wasn't real love anyway. Just a strong liking for. I was three. It wasn't love." Leilani said, and Noelle shook her head.

"You two had such a special bond. But it was so weird…one night, he's there, and the next night, he's dead. And so young…" Noelle whispered, and Leilani began to get annoyed with the sad note the conversation was taking.

"Who knows? Perhaps on Earth we will find the Warrior Angels of Thalia." Leilani replied, winking. Noelle scoffed.

"I doubt we'll ever find them, Leilani. They disappeared a millennia ago, and no one has seen them even since that day they vanished." The smaller girl replied, leaning back. Leilani smiled.

"I know, I know, but you know me, when the spark of hope is lit inside of me-"

"The spark grows into a fire that will blaze inside of me, growing each day until finally the hope is dimmed, and even then it has not completely died." Noelle recited with her, and the two broke into even more fits of laughter.

"So, when can we expect Titania, Comet, and Pandora to arrive with the Starlights?" Leilani asked, sitting cross legged on the chair as she turned to face her friend.

"Hm…I'd expect…well, we'll see in the morning. Or perhaps the morning after that. Or even, by chance, never, dear Princess." The shorter girl replied, winking and getting up.

"I hate when you try doing that ominous thing…" She growled, standing up and following Noelle into the kitchen.

"You know, we don't have any food." Noelle said. Leilani smiled.

"No, but there is a phone…we can order some pizza." Leilani answered, gesturing to the large book on a desk top.

"Is it like the pizza on Thalia?" Noelle asked.

"How am I supposed to know?" Leilani counter-asked. Noelle froze for a moment.

"Good point." Noelle opened the book and began searching through the pages. Leilani laughed before going to her bedroom as Noelle ordered the pizza.

"Cheese for me, please!" She called, and with that, she closed the door.

**-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-**

"Star Serious Laser!" Fighter shouted, shooting the attack from her Star Yell. It destroyed the Shadows closest to the planet.

"Titania Crystal Canon!" Titania shouted out, releasing thousands of swirling crystal shards at the enemies. It pierced into hundreds of the Shadows, making them fall back for but only a moment before they continued with their onslaught.

"There are too many of them!" Fighter shouted out.

"Star Gentle Uterus!" Maker called, exiting the castle. Behind her stood Comet and Kakyuu.

"Where are Healer and Pandora?" Fighter asked, and Titania ceased her attack.

"Pandora is trying to save our lives, and Healer's helping her." Titania replied.

"We don't have time to talk, we have to buy Pandora and Healer some time! Comet Charge Evolution!" Comet raised her hands up, sending out a beam of light that grew thicker and thicker. The beam was surrounded by bright yellow rings, before it flashed out in a wide range, destroying the Shadow demons. More rose up after the ones her attack had destroyed, and Comet growled in frustration.

"How long do we have to keep them busy?" Maker asked, guarding Kakyuu.

"Hopefully, not long." Titania replied, before firing out another Crystal Cannon attack.

**-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O**

Healer ran as fast as she could, through halls and up stairwells, passing closed doors and fleeing servants. Everyone was afraid of what this attack may bring, but Healer didn't have time to stop and ask if everyone inside the palace was okay. She had to get Pandora to the highest point of the palace. Eventually, they came to a grand spiral stairwell, and neither slowed, running full speed up the steps.

"What do you need this for anyway?" Healer called back to Pandora, who was right on her heels.

"You'll see." The shorter, in not by much, Senshi replied. After another moment of running, they reached the highest tower of the palace. Healer slammed the door shut behind them.

"Now what?" The silver haired girl asked, but she stopped short when she saw Pandora standing at the window of the tower. The wind blew through her hair, and tears pooled in her gentle amethyst eyes. She closed her eyes, and took a shaky breath, before snapping her eyes open.

"Hear me, my Shadows! Stop your attacks, hold back! I am the daughter of your queen, I am your Princess! Head my word, or I shall have to force you away!" She shouted out, her voice stronger than Healer had ever heard. Pandora sounded like a royal, but also like a dark Shadow. She'd had no idea of the small Thalia Senshi's ability to take charge so quickly.

The Shadows below quivered, not sure whether to obey their Princess' wishes or to go on with their attack. For a second, they did draw back, but more came in their place, going on with their onslaught of attacks. They fought more viciously to get to the planet, and Pandora shook her head.

"I didn't want to do this…" She whispered, closing her eyes and clasping her hands together in front of her chest, fingers intertwined.

"Do what?" Healer demanded, but Pandora didn't answer. Between her clasped hands a small light began to glow. The light quickly grew, lighting up her face, making the tear streaks running down her cheeks glisten.

"_I live to destroy_

_So is the fate of my life_

_For through my veins conflict ensues_

_Between the gentle soul of Divine Ones_

_And the dark power of the Shadows_

_With my power I possess_

_I am the difference between life and death_

_My duty is to bring destruction_

_While my heart wishes for peace_

_So to you, oh stars of the sky_

_I ask for just this wish_

_Hold back the Shadows, give us time_

_And then release them to destroy Kinmoku!_

_Pandora Radiance Obliteration!"_

"What?" Healer shouted, raising a hand to block the glowing light from her eyes. Pandora opened her hands, the light grew into a glowing orb. Then she opened her eyes, and Healer released a shocked gasp as she saw that Pandora's eyes were glowing a similar shade of yellow. There was no trace of the amethyst that had once been there, or the white that should be there period. Inwardly, Healer wondered if the small Senshi could see with her eyes like that. She held her arms out the tower window, away from her, and the light continued to grow until it began to surround the castle. Then the ground around the palace. The light continued to seep through, all around the planet, and Healer watched with wide eyes as all of Kinmoku was bathed in this yellow light. Pandora turned to her, the yellow still glowing in her eyes.

"Now, we must hurry and leave, or I fear none of us will ever see the light again."

**-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O**

Fighter, Maker, and Kakyuu looked back worriedly as the yellow light stretched towards them, not sure if it would destroy them on contact or not. Titania and Comet almost wanted to laugh at the looks on their faces. Almost. But now was not the time for laughter.

"Don't fear the light. We have no Shadow blood in our veins. It is Pandora's light, our protection. It will keep us safe, but just long enough to get us of this planet." Titania explained. The way Fighter, Maker, and Kakyuu were looking at her, she could tell they didn't believe her, and Comet apparently understood their looks too.

"You don't have to believe us, but you'll be the ones who are destroyed along with your planet, not being able to do anything to help it again." Comet shrugged, and that got through to the Kinmoku humanoids.

"Then what _do _we do?" Fighter asked. Titania put her hands on her hips.

"Nothing. Or at least, nothing until Pandora and Healer get here." She replied.

"And I hope that's soon…" Comet whispered, and only Titania heard her.

**-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O**

"Then lets go!" Healer exclaimed, opening the door, but Pandora did not move. Her eyes were still glowing yellow.

"I can not see." She said simply.

"Then I'll lead you out." Healer suggested, but Pandora shook her head and extended her hand.

"Take my hand, Healer." She said gently. Healer looked at her hand for a moment, as it curled around empty air. She put her slightly larger hand inside the girls smaller one, and Pandora tugged her closer, until they were chest to chest. She looked into the girls blind yellow eyes, and shivered. It felt like even though Pandora couldn't seeher, she could _see_ her. It was a strange sensation.

"Do you trust me?" Pandora's voice broke Healer from her trance.

"What?" The Starlight asked, her voice suddenly hoarse.

"Do you trust me?" She repeated.

"I…yes, I do." Healer replied. A small smile graced Pandora's lips. And with that, she took a high step backwards, so she stood on the window pane. Healer's eyes widened to the size of saucers.

"Pandora, what're you-" HEaler began, but she didn't have time to finish her question. Pandora had jumped backwards through the window, falling down the tower and into the Shadows. And she dragged Healer down with her.

"What are you thinking? They'll _destroy _us!" Healer shouted to the girl, whose blind eyes looked up at her.

"No. I am their Princess, as you said before. And now, you are mine, Healer. They will not destroy what is mine." And with those words, a gold light surrounded Pandora and slowly engulfed Healer, and they two plummeted into the Shadows.

**-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O**

"Where are they?" Kakyuu asked, her voice laced with worry. They had seen a golden light fall from the tower and into the Shadows. The golden light around the planet seemed to be keeping the Shadow demons at bay.

"They will be here soon." Titania assured, standing at the side of the Fireball Princess. She was honestly shocked to hear the worry in the Princess' voice. Kakyuu was not just worried about her Starlight, but she also seemed worry about Pandora, a girl she didn't even really know. Perhaps Kakyuu wasn't as bad as she thought.

Soon enough, two figures emerged from the Shadows. Relief flooded everyone's hearts as they saw the two were actually Pandora and Healer. And they were running towards them. As they approached, they saw Pandora's eyes resume their normal form.

"We must leave now. My magic won't last forever." Pandora said when they reached him, and Titania and Comet nodded, joining hands with her. Pandora held out a hand to Healer, who joined hands with Maker. Maker held Kakyuu's hand and on the other side of Kakyuu was Fighter.

"To Earth…" The all whispered. Pandora was engulfed in a green light, while Comet was surrounded in a teal beam. Titania's beam was purple, Kakyuu's was peach color, while Fighter's was red, Healer's was yellow, and Maker's was white.

As they took to the skies, Kakyuu, Fighter, Healer, and Maker looked back at Kinmoku, and saw the yellow light around the planet slowly faded away, and the Shadows continued their onslaught of attacks. Tears fell from Kakyuu's eyes. Pandora looked at her sadly, and sent her thoughts to the Fireball Princess.

_I vow to you, Princess Kakyuu, that we will help you redeem your planet. Even if it costs me my life._

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**Jazz: And chapter three…is complete!**

**Layla: Let the next chapter commence!**

**Aqua: **_**After **_**we get some reviews!**

**Kelsey: Know what that means? Review! Review! Please, review!**

**Emma: Yes, please review, please, soon! Oh my gosh…did I just **_**beg?**_

**Jazz: Yep, you did. Well, we hope you all loved this chappie as much as we love getting reviews from you guys! R&R!**


	5. Return of the Moon, Angels, and Stars

**Sailor Moon: The Shadows Arc**

**Chapter 4: Return of the Moon, Angels and Stars**

**Disclaimer: We will never, ever own Sailor Moon. Not now, not ever, not in a million years.**

**-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-**

**Layla: Chapter four! Chapter four! Chapter four! Chapter four!**

**Aqua: Layla, we get it. It's chapter four. You can stop now.**

**Layla: But I'm just so excited! This story is already hitting Chapter four! And to all of you who reviewed, thanks so much you have no idea what it means to us! For all those who didn't review, than please, **_**REVIEW!**_

**Kelsey: ****Warning****: Rated M for this chapter**

**Emma: Enjoy the chapter.**

**Jazz: See you guys at the end! And don't forget to review!**

**-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-**

**The Future- Crystal Tokyo**

**-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-**

Sailor Saturn hung from her chains, sipping water from the bowl the guard held before her mouth. He took the water away and he held bread before her mouth, and she eagerly took a bite. Each day, King Endymion made sure she was only fed bread and water, twice a day. Today was her second time eating, and she wouldn't get anything else for at least another ten hours. As was life under the rule of King Endymion.

And a terrible rule it was. His people were starving and many had died from the terrible living conditions. Homes had been destroyed, family members taken away at chance to be executed. She winced when she heard screams coming from the dungeon cells again. She recognized that voice anywhere, she'd heard it screaming for a year now…it was Sailor Neptune. Again. She remembered the first night she heard the shrieks coming from the dungeon.

_**Flashback**_

_Sailor Saturn felt her heart stop at the loud scream coming from the dungeon. She wanted to struggle against the restraints at the sound. It was the same voice she had looked up to all those years ago, Sailor Neptune._

"_What was that?" She asked, not exactly expecting an answer from her guard. He never spoke to her, not since the first time she'd tried to escape the first day she was put in here. His only words had been _'I'm going to enjoy this.' _and with that, he'd cut off her left leg. She looked at the devious smirk at his face._

"_That Sailor Neptune…those guards must be having fun with her." He replied, chuckling. Saturn felt her blood run cold at his response._

"_W-what do you mean?" Her voice cracked, and the guard let out a booming laugh._

"_They're the lucky ones. They get to fuck her all they want. But I'll get my chance soon enough." The guard answered, and he laughed again. Tears streaked down her face as she screamed in rage, yanking on her chains and restraints, desperately trying to free herself. She wanted to rip out the guards throat for such words against Sailor Neptune. _

"_I'll kill you!" She shouted, thrashing about in her shackles angrily. The guard jumped to his feet and glared at her, grabbing his sword and holding it up against her._

"_You know your punishment for trying to escape." The guard hissed. _

_He took his fist and struck her in the face. Saturn cried out in pain at the impact, blood gushing from her nose and lip. The sting was enough to make her stay in place for a moment, and that was all he needed. Bringing his sword down, he sliced at her left shoulder, and Saturn screeched at the pain. Blood gushed from the wound, and the guard sat back at his post, crossing his arms and ignoring Saturn's cries. Her tears flowed anew as she heard Neptune scream again, and she also heard a scream from what sounded as Sailor Venus. From the guard's chuckle, Saturn assumed it was for the same reason._

"_You…cruel…bastard…" She growled out. Ever since being chained here, her language had only seemed to be getting worse. _

"_Now now, Sailor Saturn, that's not very nice for you to say, is it?" A new voice said. Saturn looked up as her guard stood and bowed to the newcomer. It was none other than King Endymion himself, his black hair shining. He wore his usual white mask, but his blue eyes weren't the same. They were crimson red and evidence of countless sleepless nights reflected in them. She growled at the so-called King of Earth._

"_You deceitful bastard! You sicken me!" She sneered at him, and Endymion narrowed his eyes at her. _

_He approached her slowly, and Saturn leaned as far back as she could from him. He stood right before her, nose to nose, glaring into her narrowed violet eyes. She found the thought appalling, but she did it anyway. Taking a breath, she spit on Endymion's face, and he narrowed his eyes at her, growling and wiping away at her saliva angrily._

"_You ungrateful wench!" He snarled, striking her across her cheek. _

_Her head snapped in the direction of his blow, and she panted heavily. Turning back towards him, she used all the hatred she could muster and glared at him. She wanted him to feel the affect of all the pain he'd put her, and the others, through. So much pain…so many tears shed…and he sat there on his throne everyday, smug, confident. He deserved a punishment worse than death._

"_You are sad and pathetic, Endymion. You have betrayed your people, your _friends, Serenity_. And for whatever god damned reason she loved you, and we supported your union. Right now, I have no greater desire than to run my Silence Glaive through your throat and watch you beg for your life." Saturn hissed at him, and Endymion smiled wickedly. He put both his hands on either side of her waist, and Saturn struggled to squirm out of his grip, but to no success. _

"_Sailor Saturn…so young…so powerful…so innocent…" He whispered, and Saturn felt the color drain from her face at his words, and she struggled again, this time more violently. He tightened his grip on her, his dull nails piercing her flesh._

"_Get your hands off of me!" She ordered, kicking at him. But nothing she did was enough, he was shielded from her blows by a dark aura coming from him, and the fact she was shackled to the wall._

"_Now Sailor Saturn…wouldn't it be tragic if something happened to your…precious…innocence…?" He asked, and she thrashed even harder to get out of his grip. But the Shadow Aura surrounding him and her chains protected him, rendering her attacks ineffective._

"_Get away from me!" She grunted, kicking again. She felt her fear and frustration grow as he just leaned closer to her. Saturn closed her eyes and turned away from him, and she felt his warm breath on her cheek and neck._

"_Now why would I do that…?" Endymion inquired, slowly sliding his hands downward. Some of it tore at her fuku, revealing her bare flesh. His hands reached her thighs, at the ends of her short purple skirt. He briskly ran his hands up and down her thighs, creating a warm friction. _

"_I…despise you…" She hissed through clenched teeth, biting her lower lip. _

_Endymion smiled wickedly as his hands traveled up under her skirt, and she screamed at a piercingly high pitch. Endymion retracting his hands to cover his ears. Even the guard covered his ears, and Saturn made sure to use all of the oxygen in her lungs in her shriek, hopefully able to attract the attention of _someone _who'd be able to help her. Anyone. When she stopped to gasp for air, Endymion slapped her roughly across her cheek._

"_Distasteful wench…" He growled, scowling at her. He turned to take his leave, cape swaying behind him. The guard watched Endymion leave, his face impassive._

_**End Flashback**_

The young Senshi turned her head to the left to look at the stub of an arm she had left. And the stub of a leg. The leg she'd lost a week after she'd first been chained here. She wouldn't have tried to escape, but she had to. She'd hurt Rini scream in agonizing pain from Endymion striking her, and she'd heard Mercury and Jupiter's final screams. She'd fought to save her friends, swearing at the guard and in irritation that her shackles could hold her so well. She winced as she remembered the pain. Endymion only get her alive in case he needed her powers of Destruction. Which was why he had sent a doctor to at least stop the bleeding, and make sure she was healthy enough to be ensured she would live.

Saturn winced when she heard another ear-piercing screech join the first. This was the agonized scream of Sailor Venus, another all too familiar sound for Sailor Saturn. Day in and day out, she heard Venus, Neptune, and Mars screaming from the abuse they were suffering. Uranus had scared the guards from her, even in her manacles she found a way to make them fear her. Not a surprise, it almost made her smile. But nothing could make her smile in this age of desperation.

Closing her eyes and hanging her head, Saturn fell into the familiar silence she'd come accustomed to everyday. It was routine, he fed her, gave her water, they fell into silence, and listened to the agonizing screams of the Senshi far below. Sailor Saturn was shocked that Endymion hadn't killed them yet. That was why he'd killed Mercury, because her screams would echo through the palace all through the days and nights. Saturn's own theory was that Endymion was _one _of the many men raping the poor Senshi, which was why he had yet to kill any of them.

She heard footsteps, and simply assumed it was another guard to switch posts or Endymion again. She'd learned it was always better to just ignore his presence, and fight the anger and hatred that built inside of her just at the thought of him. She never regretted her actions from the day she spat on his face, and honestly wished she could do it again. That, and a few more things that could get her killed.

Instead of the usual low bow of respect the guard gave Endymion, he shot from his seat, sword drawn.

"You're not su-" Was all he managed until soft _clunk_ was heard. At the sound of a dull thud, and Saturn looked up to see the guard unconscious on the floor, and standing before him with a vase in her hand was none other than Neo-Queen Serenity herself.

"Serenity…" Saturn managed, staring at her Queen in shock.

Her normally trailing white gown was ripped so it revealed her upper thighs, and it was torn in other places. Her hair fell loose about her, covered in blood and dirt. Her cerulean eyes were red and puffy from crying, and bags fell below them from countless sleepless nights. Her bangs that normally delicately framed her face her standing in all directions, some cut short and others dangling past her eyes. Her flesh clung to her body, her bones sticking out through the once fair and smooth skin. There were cuts, scrapes, and bruises all over her once fair skin, blood oozing from some newer wounds, older ones covered in scabs of dried blood. Her lips were swollen, her wings tattered and torn. But despite her horrid appearance, a dainty smile graced her lips.

"The time has come to send our hope back to the past…" She said, her voice hoarse. Saturn blinked.

"Small Lady…" The Solder of Death and Rebirth whispered, and Serenity nodded. The Queen of Earth approached the girl, and slowly ran a hand through Saturn's short black hair and kissed the girls forehead as the symbol of Saturn burned across her flesh.

"Be safe, my Saturn…" Serenity said softly, before turning and running out of the door. Diana stood at the doorway waiting for Serenity and then followed her down the corridor. Sailor Saturn stared after her, and a smile slowly played across her lips as she watched her Queen.

"Long live Neo-Queen Serena." She said. Serenity was her name, but no matter what, she'd always be the young Serena Tsukino that Saturn had known so long ago.

**-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-**

Serenity ran through the halls of the Crystal Palace, constantly glancing behind her and around her for guards. Endymion was sure to soon know that she was out of her chambers again. Something she hadn't done since she had visited Sailor Pluto and Queen Sahara in the Corridor of Space-Time. And her punishment then was what kept her from trying again to escape. She had to keep herself out of Endymion's radar to survive this year, and now was the time to take advantage of his customary daylong absences. Diana was keeping pace with the Queen as best she could, refusing to give up. Luna and Artemis…they'd been killed just this past year, and Diana refused to suffer the same fate. She would do all she could to help save the Universe. After Serenity had told her of her plan, Diana and the Queen of Earth had spent all of their time planning for this day, and now it was upon them.

And Serenity would rather die than have a repeat of events from the first time.

_**Flashback**_

_Serenity tried to sneak back to her chambers before she was found by Endymion or any of his guards. She had just returned from the Corridor of Space-Time, and as of yet, she had not seen anyone. The Crystal Palace was like an empty passageway_. _The whole hall was empty of all life. No people walked through the halls, no screaming, no anything. Not even a gust of wind, or the sounds of the tiny feet of mice scurrying across the crystal floor. For a moment, the Neo-Queen of Earth felt like she might actually get away with this secret meeting with the Soldier of Revolution._

_Or so she thought._

_As Serenity quietly ducked into her bed chambers and slowly closed the door behind her, she released a breath she didn't know she'd been holding. Smiling to herself at her success, she turned to her bed and suppressed a gasp. Sitting on the edge of their bed was King Endymion himself, a squealing Diana in his lap. He was slowly stroking her coat, dragging a knife gently across the kitten's skin as his hand rubbed across her back. Blood pooled down across her smooth grey pelt. The young kitten yelped, but Endymion continued his slow torture._

"_Serenity." He said simply. The Queen felt her throat choke up, and she blinked away the tears glistening in her eyes._

"_Endymion…" She began, not sure what else to say to him. She feared the man sitting before her, that was no secret. He was evil, devious, and maniacal. Serenity knew she no longer loved him like she once had, and wished desperately to go back in time and change the course of fate so that she had never married him, or loved him. But that was her daughter's job. In one year's time…_

_But her thoughts were interrupted when Endymion stood and uncaringly threw Diana across the room, causing the kitten to squeal in pain again. The King approached her, and her thoughts ran wild as she thought of all the things she'd seen him to do the others, and what he'd certainly to do her. She pressed her back against the door, inwardly hoping it would give way and give her some method of escape. But she knew by now, there was no escape from Endymion and his rage._

"_Where were you, Serenity?" He asked. His voice then reminded her of how he used to speak to her, back when he'd just been Darien Shields. For a moment, she forgot about all of his transgressions and melted into his blue eyes. The same eyes she'd loved so long ago…_

_But then his eyes changed. They gleamed crimson once again, and narrowed at her. He scowled at her, taking his right hand and wrapping it in a tight grip around her throat. She gasped in surprise and clawed at his arm, but to no avail. Slowly, he lifted her up and her feet kicked, desperate to find the ground. He tightened his grip on her throat, before pulling her towards him and them slamming her back against the door. She screamed in pain, and Diana struggled to her feet, wanting desperately to help her Queen. But she fell with a thump on her side, her tail going limp. Serenity gasped for air, trying to scream, when Endymion again slammed her against the door. She gasped, and he took his left and laid it on her abdomen, digging his blunt nails into her side, and ripping at her dress. She felt tears roll down her cheeks and she silently begged him to stop with her eyes. But her silent pleas only made him continue with his torment. His hands roamed her body, cupping one of her breasts. She felt her breath catch and she kicked at him wildly, but to no avail. He rubbed her breast roughly and squeezed it tight before sliding his hand down lower. When he reached the part of her white gown concealing her thighs, he tore at the material, revealing her bruised and blemished skin. Serenity kicked furiously, fighting against Endymion for her life. She screamed, tears running down her face, begging for him to stop. He growled, taking her from the grip on her neck and throwing her down at the floor beside Diana._

_Before Serenity could get up, he was straddling her waist, using his left hand to hold her hands above her head to prevent her from fighting him off. With his right hand, he tore at the rest of her dress. Leaning forward, he nipped and sucked harshly at her neck, and despite the hatred and anger she felt towards this man, she had to bite her lower lip to prevent a moan from slipping through her lips. But she knew she felt nothing towards him, her body was betraying her mind and she wasn't sure how to stop it. He left multiple 'love bites' across her fair, and bruised, skin. His mouth traveled lower, and he temporarily lifted himself to unfasten the one cloth that held his lips from her breasts. Carelessly tossing the material aside, his mouth descended on her left breast, suckling and nipping at her nipple. His right hand played with its neglected twin, toying with it between his fingers and dull nails. She arched her back towards him, leaning her head back as her eyes rolled to the back of her head. The sensation was pleasurable, but she hated it. Diana watched with tear filled eyes. Despite how Serenity was reacting to Endymion's touches and caresses, she knew the Queen could no longer stand the King. But her body was betraying her, and Diana wanted nothing more than to get Neo-Queen Serenity away from him. But in her weakened state, the small grey kit knew there was nothing she could do and she turned away as the tears flowed, using her small paws to muffle the sounds of the Queen's painful pleasure._

_His kisses trailed lower, until her reached her belly button. He swirled his tongue in the small area, making Serenity tremble below him. He nipped the area roughly, and Serenity bit her lip again to keep from moaning out loud. His right hand, which had been fondling her breasts, moved down to tear at her panties, removing the material with little difficulty. Her released her quickly to remove his own clothes, and was on Serenity again in a moment. He placed butterfly like kisses on her inner thighs, and Serenity shivered under his feather light touch. Looking up at her with a lust filled gaze, he shoved two fingers into her opening. Serenity gasped before a moan escaped her mouth, buckling her legs into his touch. He pumped in and out of her roughly, and Serenity felt her eyes flutter closed. Endymion he removed his fingers and put his mouth over her clit, sucking at the area and nipping it._

_His fingers were soon replaced by his tongue and Serenity nearly jumped out of her skin in surprise, releasing another soft moan. His right hand was on her waist, and it slid up to her breasts, fondling them and playing with her erect nipples. Serenity felt her breath quicken, and sweat ran down her forehead. He moved his head away, and Serenity whimpered at the loss. But it didn't go for long. Endymion positioned himself at her opening, before plunging inside of her and 'filling her up'. Serenity felt her breath hitch as he plunged in her. He pumped in an out of her opening, quickly and roughly. She felt the painful sensation send a shock through her body. His thrusts grew harder and faster, and Serenity felt tears run down her face anew. She tired to hold it in, but to no avail, and she came. Endymion continued to thrust inside of her, and Serenity screamed out in pain. Endymion plunged into her one last time with more force than ever before, as his orgasm also came. As he emptied his seed inside of her, Serenity panted, looking up at him with fearful eyes. The gaze he returned to her made her heart drop._

_His gaze was filled with pure evil and malice. His crimson eyes were narrowed, and there was a certain bestial intensity in his eyes, and it made her shiver, her blood running cold. She bit her lip at Endymion's stare, and anger suddenly radiated off of the King in waves. He reached behind him and grabbed the same knife he'd used on Diana and held it over Serenity's stomach. She felt tears run down her cheeks. What now? Rini would never get to the past, and the Universe would be destroyed because she got distracted before the year had even passed. Before even a _day _had passed. Serenity winced and turned away as she felt the blade of the knife drag slowly down her stomach, the cold touch of its blade making her shiver. She tried to fight against him, but he was still straddling her waist, while his other hand held her arms high above her head, and he was still inside of her._

_She felt him lift the knife, only to bring it back down again and again. Its touch was so smooth, so gentle, she didn't think he was trying to cut her. Or that's what she thought until she felt the warm red liquid trail down her abdomen. Her tears began to flow anew as she turned her head away from him, continuing to feel him carve his mark on her. Tears ran down her cheeks as the felt the knife slide across her smooth skin. All that could be heard through the Crystal Palace was the sound of Serenity's faint sobs. Endymion extracted himself from her and stood as he began to redress. Serenity still lay on the cold floor, dazed and dizzy. The cuts were small but there were so many of them, she could feel her energy draining with the blood seeping from her body as it rolled down her sides and onto the crystal ground. Her breathing was still uneven and her eyes were only partially open. Once dressed, Endymion kneeled beside her and pressed the blade of his dagger against her throat, and Serenity looked at him with wild fear in her eyes._

"_Leave this room again, and you can be sure I'll have your head on a platter." He whispered harshly. Serenity's eyes widened, and he quickly moved the small knife and slashed her over her breasts. Serenity screamed out in pain and Endymion stood, leaving the royal bed chamber, and leaving the Queen on the crystal floor in a slowly growing pool of her own blood. Serenity laid there for hours. She didn't bother to respond to the nurses Endymion sent up to stop her from bleeding to death. She didn't look at the now barely standing Diana who had curled up beside her. She just didn't move._

_After what felt like a day had passed, she slowly rose to her feet. Her limbs were numb and her balance unsteady. But still with as much grace as she could muster, she strode to the bathroom to cleanse herself. Then she looked in the mirror at the horrifying sight she was. Her hair was flowing all about her, disheveled and dirty. There were bruises all across her skin. From her stomach and shoulders to her thighs, yellowish and purple bruises were forming. Her neck and breasts were covered in hickeys and bruises from Endymion. Above her breasts was a single line from _his _knife. But the most horrid sight was her stomach._

_Using a dagger, Endymion had carved a rose against her skin. A single rose, with petals and thorns and every detail. And it mocked her. Roses were what the kind hearted Tuxedo Mask had once used. A rose was a piece of art, a gentle flower. Every rose had its thorns. But this rose had many thorns that decorated her body, turning her once fair skin into nothing but scars and cuts. More tears pooled in her eyes, and she fell to her knees as sobs wracked her body, lost in her own world of darkness and despair._

_**End Flashback**_

Serenity continued running as she blinked away tears remembering that day. Her hand subconsciously reached her stomach as she ran, feeling the still clearly visible rose sliced into her skin. The marks from his dagger had never disappeared, and she had a feeling that even if they did, it wouldn't make a difference. The scars inside of her would still be there. From that fateful day. Luna had been executed later on that same day.

And ever since then, she had not allowed herself to get distracted. Her only available company had been Diana, and the two were sure to be ready for this moment. No matter what, Diana and Rini needed to make it out of the castle and get back to the past to help stop any of this from ever happening. The Shadows had destroyed the future, and now it was time for it to be fixed.

The Neo-Queen of Earth and Diana finally reached a door and immediately tried to open it. Only to find it was locked. But Serenity didn't falter. Reaching into her hair, she pulled out a single bobby pin. Taking the pin, she tried the lock on the door, maneuvering it as quickly as possible. She stuck her tongue into her cheek and narrowed her eyes as she concentrated, while Diana stayed vigilant beside her. The Queen smiled to herself as she successfully unlocked the door and hurried inside, Diana scampering in after her. Rini's head shot up as she looked at them.

"Mommy…" The small girl whispered before bounding over to the taller woman and embracing her. Serenity choked back a sob as she hugged her daughter back, while Diana went to use her claws to free Luna-P. Serenity took a shaky breath before pulling Rini away from her, hands on the smaller girls shoulders as she looked into her red eyes. Rini's eyes were red, but they were gentle. Her father's eyes had become red and crazed from his Shadow power.

"Rini, listen to me. You need to go in the past. Stop all of this from happening. Help Sailor Moon defeat the Shadows and do anything else you see fit to save the future. _Anything._ Trista will explain your mission when you get there." Serenity ordered, opening the small girls hand and placing the Key of Space-Time into her outstretched palm.

"But, Mommy…" Rini began. She hated her life here. She hated what her father had done to Crystal Tokyo. He had destroyed their peaceful utopia. But she didn't want to leave her mother here. She'd already lost so many friends already, she couldn't stand losing her mother. At least she'd known the Queen was alive, even if they were forbidden to have any forms of contact with one another.

"Please, Rini, you must do this. Take Diana and Luna-P with you. And above all my precious Small Lady, my darling Rini," Serenity kissed the top of Rini's head. "Be safe."

With those last words, the Neo-Queen of Earth fled fro her daughters room, tears running down her cheeks. Rini looked after her with a sorrowful expression, until Diana nudged her leg.

"Quickly, Princess!" The small gray kit said, a look of fierce determination in her eyes. Luna-P stood on Rini's other side, and the pink headed girl nodded, holding the Key of Time-Space high above her head.

_"Time Guardian! Tear apart the sky, and open the space-time door to me! I call the true name of the almighty god of time, the time guardian's father! Chronos! Reveal to me the path of light" _She shouted out. And with that, Princess Small Lady Serenity, her friend and guardian Luna-P, and her other guardian Diana disappeared in a flash of pink light.

**-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-**

**The Present- Kinmoku**

**-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-**

Prince Damien walked across the dark and dead ruins of Kinmoku, growling to himself. His Shadows had destroyed this planet, killed all of its life forms, destroyed each building, even demolishing its palace. But nothing. No Divine Princess, none of her Senshi…the whole invasion had been for naught! In his anger, the Prince grabbed the sword at his hilt and slashed at his nearest Shadow. It wouldn't kill the being, of course, but it would at least injure it. And that was one way for the irritated Prince to express his anger. A black Shadow formed a familiar looking Shadow woman appeared. Damien narrowed his eyes at her.

"Your information was wrong, Shadow." He growled out, and Queen Shadow shook her head, hands on her hips. She smiled softly at him.

"_My Prince, can I be put to blame because the Princess and her Senshi were gone before you got here?" _Shadow asked, delicately laying a hand over her chest as though she was offended. Damien glared at her.

"Who else am I to blame? You're so called lead was false, and has been nothing but a waste of my time!" Damien snapped, turning away from the Shadow woman. The Queen of Shadows simply chuckled, before allowing her legs to become Shadow trails and following after him.

"_But my Prince, you are so very wrong. My lead has just led you closer to find your Princess." _Shadow murmured, a sly smile on her face. Damien felt his anger slowly drain. He always reacted like that when news of ways to find the Divine Princess came up. She was his weakness, even galaxies apart, she had this power over him.

"Explain yourself, Shadow." He demanded, wheeling on the Dark Queen. Shadow smirked at his new-found interest. The Shadow Prince was far too easy to read. He would do anything, sacrifice anything, for the Divine Princess. And his weakness for the one girl never ceased to amaze the Queen of Shadows.

"_The other Senshi of the Universe…the Solar System Senshi of the White Moon." _Shadow replied casually, tossing a lock of hair over her shoulder and she continued on. Sure enough, a few seconds later, she heard Prince Damien bounding behind her.

"Solar System Senshi of the White Moon? Who are they?" Damien asked, walking beside floating Queen. Shadow smiled to herself. Oh yes, any news that could help lead him to his precious Divine Princess captured the Prince's attention. And his own desperation held it there.

"_Surely you remember, dear Shadow Prince. Queen Serenity of the White Moon, the one who sealed you away. Her daughter and her Senshi are the current Solar System Senshi._" Shadow explained nonchalantly, pretending to study her nails. Out of the corner of her eye, she looked at the young Prince's reaction. And the Shadow Prince looked ready to explode from anger.

"Those damn wenches lived?" The Prince demanded, glaring at Shadow. The Queen smiled slyly.

"_Oh yes, all of the Guardian Senshi of the Solar System are living_." Queen Shadow clucked her tongue as she continued to pretend inspecting her nails.

"Damn it all!" Damien shouted, destroying some nearby remains of the Palace of Kinmoku.

Shadow winced with a satisfied smile on her face. Yes, the Prince was so easy manipulate. And this made it easier for her. Queen Shadow enjoyed using Prince Damien's weakness for the Divine Princess, because it always lead to his dark feelings. Dark feelings that she fed off of. Shadow Energy. Shadow Energy was made up of all the negative feelings a person could harness. It was far stronger than Normal Energy. And all beings had a Dark Soul. It was like a crystal within their body. A Shadow Shard. The Darker its glow, the more powerful the persons Shadow Energy was. And without their Shadow Shard, the goodness of a persons soul disappears, and they are overcome by darkness.

"_Now now, Damien, no need to take your anger out on the poor destroyed remains."_ Shadow chastised, and the Prince of Shadows scowled.

"Silence!" He shouted, and Shadow winced again. While she loved feeding off of his Shadow Energy, she had to say that with so much Shadow Energy inside of him, he also had a darker side that not even _she _the _Queen of Shadows_, dared venture into. But Shadow kept her face indifferent.

"_Prince Damien…my handsome Shadow Prince…you have an advantage to stop them…" _Shadow said in a sing-song voice, floating further ahead than Damien. The Prince stayed where he was, glaring at the rubbles of Kinmoku.

"Go on." He said at last. Shadow smiled to herself before turning and floating back towards him. She danced in her Shadows around him, swirling around his body.

"_Send forth your Shadows, invade the Earth. Have them steal the Shadow Shards of Earth, find the ones powerful enough to for_ _you to create a second Shadow Crystal." _Queen Shadow advised. Damien's eyes widened.

"The power of strong Shadow Shards can form another Shadow Crystal?" He asked, his voice filled with shock. The Shadow Queen nodded, a smile gracing her lips.

"_Oh yes, dear Prince. But only the darkest of Shadow Shards can give you this ability. Only the Sinister Shadow Shards can give you this ability. The darkest of Shadow Shards, filled with the darkness of only the blackest souls." _She answered. and Damien smiled wickedly, walking through the rubble of Kinmoku's palace.

"Yes…soon, Earth will fall under our spell of darkness as well." Damien said quietly, and Shadow nodded with a hum.

"_But do not act too hastily, My Prince. Slowly destroy Earth, install fear into the hearts of its people…" _Shadow whispered into Damien's ear, one hand on his shoulder. Damien's wicked smile grew.

"How amusing…" The Shadow Prince murmured, and Shadow smiled, sitting on a large stone beside Damien.

"_Call on them now, My Prince._" She advise, crossing her legs and crossing her arms. She smiled, revealing a row of teeth so white it seemed wrong to be coming from a woman who was surrounded by darkness. Damien nodded.

"Adriana!" Damien shouted to the skies. The Shadows quivered, and one dived to the Earth. It stopped before Damien and shivered before taking the form of a young girl.

She wasn't very short, but was definitely not tall. Her hair flowed down to her waist, and was pink, divided into two pigtails on either side of her head. Right down the middle of her head was a black streak, that appeared to begin at the black diamond on her forehead. Her eyes were a dark tinted green. She wore a bikini like top and shorts, black and decorated with white and pink. Her knee high heeled boots were black and white, and she smiled at her Prince and Queen.

"My liege?" She addressed Prince Damien, bowing before the two at her waist.

"Adriana, Tenth Daughter of the Shadows, I send you forth to Earth. It is your mission to destroy the Sailor Senshi of the Solar System. And I will not be merciful shall you fail." Damien explained, glaring at her all them time. Adriana stood, a wicked smile on her face.

"I will not fail you, Prince Damien." She promised. Shadow stepped forth, the darkness below her taking the form of legs. She gently place one hand on Prince Damien's shoulder.

"_Do not be so self-confident, Tenth Daughter of the Shadows. The Senshi of the Solar System are powerful. Take care, and do not fail to bring us dark Shadow Shards, or the Divine Crystal of the Divine Princess."_ The Queen of Shadows advised, and Adrianna nodded.

"I plan to, My Queen." She replied, bowing again. With that, she was surrounded in a dark cloud that quickly shot up into the sky, disappearing into the obscurity of space. Shadow smiled at Prince Damien.

"_Fear not, My Prince. We will soon have the power to take over this Universe, and make it our own. Then, you will have your Divine Princess, and all you desire."_ Shadow murmured in his ear, smiling as she saw Prince Damien nod. His smile grew, a new light in his eyes.

"Yes. The Princess, the power, and the Universe will soon be mine." He said in a hypnotic voice. Shadow laughed, a dark chuckle that rang through the remains. The Shadows above laughed with her, echoing through the unending darkness of the cosmos.

**-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-**

"We should at least give them a chance!" Mina objected. At this point, the meeting had been divided. It was those who supported befriending the Thalia Senshi (Mina, Amy, Trista, and Hotaru) versus those who were against them (Raye, Amara, and Michelle) and those who were neutral, (Artemis, Luna, Serena, and Lita).

"We have no idea who these girls are! If we trusted every Senshi we met, Sailor Iron Mouse would have had us all dead on the spot! How can we be so sure that they aren't on the dark side?" Raye retorted. Lita looked back and forward between the two arguing sides.

"But how do we know we can't trust them? We should get to know them, if nothing else!" Amy said, her voice rising in all the tension.

"And what if we get to know them? They could betray us at any time it we did!" Amara shouted back. Lita just wasn't sure what side to take, and Serena was lost in her own thoughts.

Noelle was right. She was _not _Princess Serenity. That wasn't her name. She was Serena Tsukino. To her scouts, she was their Princess. _Their _Princess. But they never called her Princess Serenity. Or Princess Serena. To them, she was just…their Princess. Future Neo-Queen Serenity. But was that who she was? She knew it was who she was meant to be, but maybe that wasn't who she was or wanted to be. Maybe she wanted to stay normal old clumsy Serena Tsukino.

But she just didn't know. Ever since that day Luna had followed her home and told her she was destined to be Sailor Moon, she didn't know who she wanted to be. She knew she was Princess Serenity, Princess of the Moon Kingdom. She knew she was the Soldier of Love and Justice, Sailor Moon. She knew she would one day be Neo-Queen Serenity, wife of King Endymion and mother of Small Lady Serenity. But could she really call herself Serena Tsukino?

Serena had died the day she first shouted out the words '_Moon Prism Power!_' and her destiny was laid before her. And she felt suffocated by it. She knew what she had to do. In the 30th century she'd overcome an unknown disaster and make the people of Earth functionally immortal. All that power, and it would soon be hers, but she couldn't help but wonder…did she want it?

She loved Earth. It was her planet, she would give her life to protect it. But was she ready to be its Queen? She'd just _barely _made it into high school! How could she grant the billions of people on Earth immortality? How could she be a good mother and wife, and a Queen to all of Earth's people?

She bit her lower lip as she thought. She wanted the Starlights back. But most of all, she wanted Seiya back. He'd always had this thing about him. He'd been her rock, he'd been there for her when Darien hadn't. Of course, it wasn't entirely Darien's fault he wasn't with her. Sure, he had every intention on leaving her for college in America, but he'd died. He would've contacted her if he'd been able to. But even without Darien, she hadn't always felt alone. Because of Seiya. He'd made her laugh, taught her how to have fun even without her fiancé. He'd been like her best friend back then. He'd made her life tolerable.

When he left, Serena couldn't help but feel as though a small bit of herself had left with him when he'd taken to the skies and he left for Kinmoku. Even over the year that had passed since the Starlights depart, that void hadn't been filled. And sitting here, listening to her Senshi arguing about whether the Senshi from Thalia were trustworthy or not, she couldn't help but think it would never be filled.

"_No, you are not Princess Serenity. That was a past life of you. You have a new heart now, a new soul. You are Princess Serena, yet at the same time, you are just plain old Serena Tsukino"_

Noelle's words kept repeating in her mind, like a faint chant, growing louder and louder. It was beginning to become overpowering.

Now that she thought about it, she was not Princess Serenity. She didn't feel like she was her. She wasn't graceful or regal, and she didn't know how to lead. She was Serena Tsukino. A lazy, selfish, underachieving, clumsy crybaby. She didn't know how to be a Princess. In the beginning, she could just barely lead her inner Senshi, now she had to lead her whole team. Sure, she'd say she'd grown up in the time since she'd first transformed in Sailor Moon, and each day, with each new upgrade, she was becoming closer and closer to being Neo-Queen Serenity. But she still didn't feel like she was Neo-Queen Serenity, or soon to be her.

"…Serena? Serena, snap out of it!" Raye snapped, and Serena broke from her trance, looking up at her raven haired friend.

"Uhm…what?" She asked innocently, folding her hands across her lap. Raye rolled her eyes.

"Raye was just asking what you think." Lita explained. She had moved to the side supporting working with the Senshi of Thalia. Serena looked at her in confusion.

"Think about what?" Raye let out an exasperated sigh at Serena's response.

"About making Canadian bacon, what else? Do you think we should trust those Thalia Senshi or not?" The Senshi of Mars snapped, and Serena suddenly felt meek and small in comparison to her natural-born-leader friend.

"Well…I guess we should trust them. What reasons have they given us not to?" Serena asked, and Amara crossed her arms.

"The biggest one: Their hatred of Darien. He's done nothing to them, and they seem ready to wring his neck." The tall blonde woman pointed out.

"But you can't really blame them! Darien's brother has hurt them so much, and they resemble each other!" Hotaru objected. Serena began to notice that the debate had really heated up when she had gotten lost in her thoughts.

"But _Darien _didn't do that!" Amara countered. She didn't want to raise her voice at the young girl, but she was being difficult.

"Amara, how would _you _feel if someone killed Michelle who looked like me? Would you immediately trust me?" Mina asked, hands on her hips. Amara's eyes widened in shock, but she did not respond to Mina's question.

"I think we should revisit this topic later. For now, we need to learn more about this new enemy." Artemis suggested. Everyone agreed, not wanting to really go back to the large group debate that had some of them still burning with anger and irritation.

"Well, what do we know about this new enemy?" Luna asked, sitting beside Artemis and curling her tail over her paws.

"Apparently, they are ruled by the once Prince of the Skies, Prince Damien. Because of Chaos, they were freed from the Dark Crystal, now known as the Shadow Crystal." Amy said.

"And all of their minions are known as Shadow Demons. They are also responsible for the destruction of Thalia, and if Noelle is correct, soon they will have destroyed Kinmoku too." Lita added.

"What about where they're from?" Artemis asked, and the Sol Senshi exchanged glances. Leilani and Noelle had said nothing about that.

"So that's all we know." Raye said quietly. Mina nodded.

"Maybe we should try and find Leilani and Noelle. They know a lot more about this enemy than we do." Hotaru suggested.

"Perhaps we should, Hotaru. They can tell us a lot about this Realm of Shadows." Trista agreed, tucking a stray stand of green hair behind her ear.

"I don't think we should. They're distrust with Darien may cloud their judgment, and they may hesitate to tell us the truthful information we need to know." Michelle pointed out, and Luna seemed to be considering it.

"But the least we can do is try." Mina objected, holding up a finger.

"Besides, what would they have to lose by telling us what we want to know? They hate these Shadow beings and have no reason to help them." Lita added, crossing her arms and leaning back.

"It wouldn't hurt to go after them…" Amy said, laying her arms over her knees.

"I'd like to get this information as well, but I believe we should wait until after they've calmed down a bit more from the initial shock they had from seeing Darien here." Luna suggested, padding up to Amy. The blue haired girl scooted over to give the small black cat room to sit beside her.

"But I _still_ say she had every right to be mad. They both did. They must feel so betrayed…I mean, Damien has destroyed everything they hold near and dear. And he is Darien…Endymion's brother. They look alike. Seeming his face again must have been like a nightmare!" Mina pointed out, looking at the ground.

"But the main thing is that Darien and Damien are _not _the same person. They do not have the same destiny, and they have not committed the same actions." Michelle countered.

"If nothing else, I believe we should-" Trista began, but she froze when she felt a disturbance in the Space-Time Corridor. Someone was passing through the Time Gates. The tall green haired Senshi thought back to that meeting over one year ago.

_**Flashback**_

_"But what of Serenity? And her Senshi? Of Small Lady? They will die if they continue to live with Endymion!" Pluto objected. Sahara looked at her with a firm gaze._

_"They will have to. The fate of the Universe may depend on it that no one in the Crystal Palace knows of the meeting today here with me or Sailor Pluto. Or of anything we have discussed." Sahara explained._

_"What if we all die?" Serenity demanded. Sahara shook her head._

_"No, he won't kill you. Not all of you. Wait for at least a years time, and if you must, send your daughter into the past. Sailor Pluto, have her keep the Key of Space-Time. If at that point, and I'm more than certain they will be, if the Shadows are still here, only then can you send her back to the safety of the past." Sahara advised._

_**End of Flashback**_

Trista couldn't help but smile. The time had come.

"Hotaru? Hotaru!" Amara shouted. Trista snapped out of her trance and looked as the blonde haired woman prepared to take off down the steps.

"What happened?" She asked Luna, who was watching Amara, followed by Michelle, run down the steps hurriedly.

"Hotaru has decided to go to try and find Leilani and Noelle." Luna explained, and Trista nodded in understanding, her lips in a firm line. It was time. And these events would just help things play out the way they were supposed to.

**-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-**

"Don't you feel guilty in the least?" Leilani asked, eating a slice of pizza. She had to say, Earth pizza was actually really good. Not as good as the pizza of Thalia of course, but still very good.

"I suppose. But what can we do if they refuse to listen to us?" Noelle asked, and Leilani shrugged.

"I don't know, I just feel…like there was more we could've done, you know. Helped them more about the Shadows, at the least." Leilani replied, putting down the crust of the pizza. That was something she did on Thalia too. She hated the crust. It was unnecessary.

"We could have, but after that scene with _Darien_," She said his name with such venom, Leilani couldn't help but smile. "I don't think they'd been in a very big hurry to help us."

"I guess you're right, Noelle. But what do you think about the Princess of Uranus? Do you think she and Titania will get along well?" Leilani leaned back, looking at her friend as she absentmindedly fiddled with the Divine Jewel. She couldn't help but think of the powerful Divine Crystal inside the jewel, or the young Prince. She sighed.

"Well, I don't really know. I can honestly see the two being at odds with each other, but who isn't Titania at odds with when she first meets them? He he…I think meeting her was one of the most stressful meetings of my life…" Noelle confessed, a smile on her face as she remembered.

_**Flashback**_

_A three year old Princess Celestia played with a ball with her close friend and head Senshi, Noelle, better known as Sailor Eclipse. The two laughed as they played in a large garden filled with flowers of all kinds from every planet on their home world, Thalia. But both stopped abruptly when a beautiful woman walked in, a young girl behind her who appeared to be the same age as the Princess and her friend._

"_Mommy!" The Princess exclaimed, running up to her mother. Noelle followed._

"_Celestia, Noelle, I'd like to introduce to you Naomi. Celestia, she will be one of your Senshi, Sailor Titania. Penelope, this is your Princess and her head Senshi." Queen Sahara introduced, giving the young girl a push towards the two others, who watched her with wide eyes. The Queen smiled, leaving the girls to learn more about each other without her influence._

"_Princess Celestia." Naomi said, bowing before the young Princess, who smiled back._

"_Hi, Naomi! This is Noelle, my head Senshi, Sailor Eclipse." Celestia said, gesturing to the black haired girl beside her. Naomi glared at Noelle._

"_How come you're the leader of Celestia' s Senshi?" Naomi asked, glaring at the girl, who looked at her with confused eyes._

"_I don't know…why?"_

"_Cuz I'm supposed to be the leader of her Senshi!" Naomi replied, raising her voice._

"_But I am. You are her second highest." Noelle explained, and Naomi crossed her arms._

"_Just you wait, Noelle! One day, I'll be the best Senshi Thalia's ever seen, and Queen Sahara will make me Celestia's head Senshi! Just you wait!" Naomi vowed, before turning and running after the Queen. Noelle and Celestia exchanged confused glances._

_**End of Flashback**_

"I remember that day so very well! No matter what I did, Titania always tried to outdo me for five years!" Noelle laughed, and Leilani couldn't help but laugh with her.

"Oh, the memories…but as for Pandora and Saturn, I can see them getting along quite well together." Leilani said, and Noelle nodded in agreement. The two sat in silence for a moment before Noelle stood up and walked over to the door.

"Well, there's no point in letting that one meeting with the Solar System Senshi get us down! I say we go out and explore Tokyo!" Noelle suggested, and Leilani nodded, a large smile on her face.

"Then lets go out to that park we passed to get to Cherry Hill Temple." Leilani added. When Noelle nodded, she opened the door, and the two headed out to explore their new temporary home.

**-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-**

A tall man walked the streets. His hair was messy and brown, and his eyes a deep and intense green. He smiled to himself as he passed a park with young children. He was a teacher actually to elementary school kids and was taking advantage of the beautiful weekend weather to take a walk. He planned on volunteering for the community festival, an event brought together every year to raise money for the schools and parks.

As he walked, he noticed something in the sky and looked up. Seven beams of light were shooting across the sky! One was purple, one green, one teal, another peach, one red, one white, and one yellow. A woman rounded the corner at an incredible speed and ran into the man as he continued to gaze into the sky, watching the colored beams. The girl fell back from the force of the impact and dropped some books she was carrying. The man immediately helped her pick up the books and took the woman's hand, helping to pull her up.

"Sorry about that, Ms." He said, but the girl shook her head and smiled up at him.

"I should be the one apologizing. Allow me to introduce myself, I am Anna. Nice to meet you, Mr…?" She introduced, holding out one hand to him. He had to admit she was cute. She had two pink pigtails on either side of her head, and timid green eyes brimmed from below a medium sized sun hat. She gave him a small smile, and he returned it, placing his hand and hers and giving it a firm, yet gentle, shake.

"I'm Lewis." He introduced, and Anna nodded. As Lewis pulled his hand away, Anna pulled it back, pulling him closer. She looked deep into his green eyes.

"You have such nice eyes. You must be very kind hearted." She whispered, and Lewis felt his cheeks grow warm.

"Um…uh, I…suppose…" He said awkwardly, trying to pull his arm back again. Anna's smile grew, but its warmth was replaced by mischievousness.

"And the kind hearted ones are the ones with the most darkness in them!" Anna shouted, pushing Lewis back onto to the ground. The man looked up fearfully as Anna jumped into the air, surrounded by a swirling mass of darkness. The darkness disappeared, and there, floating midair, was Adriana, left hand on her hip. In her right hand was a black orb with one red mark in its dark depths.

"Now, show me your Shadow Shard!" She shouted out, throwing the orb at Lewis. It stopped a few feet from the man still laying on the sidewalk and floated above his body, the red ring pointed towards him. The red ring widened, and Lewis screamed out as he was surrounded in a red light.

**-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-**

Hotaru ran, ignoring the sounds of Amara calling her name behind her. She knew the blonde woman was a long way behind her and it would take her quite some time to catch up. It was a good thing she'd taken off the way she did, or Amara would've had time to get into her car and drive after her. She had to keep running. To find Leilani and Noelle. It could be dire to their mission to protect Serena, save the Universe, and defeat this new enemy of the Shadows. She felt herself growing weary but ignored the feeling. Until she heard a scream coming from a nearby park. Hiding behind a large tree, she peeked around to see what was going on.

A woman was floating in the air. She had two long pink pigtails and dark green eyes. In her hand was a black orb emitting a red light that was surrounding a screaming man. Hotaru knew an enemy attack when she saw one. She checked to make sure no one was around before taking out her transformation wand.

"_Saturn Crystal Power!"_

**-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O**-**o-O-**

"Damn it! Just a normal Shadow Shard! I have no use for him!" Adriana growled in frustration, looking at the black jewel that had appeared from Lewis's body. Said man was floating motionless in the air, his eyes rolled back into his head revealing only white.

"Stop where you are!" A voice said. Adriana looked into the trees and saw a small Sailor Senshi in a purple and violet fuku step from the trees. In her hand was a long glaive.

"And just _who _are you supposed to be?" Adriana scoffed, crossing her arms as she faced the girl.

"I am the Soldier of Death and Rebirth, Sailor Saturn! And in the name of the planet Saturn, I shall punish you!" Saturn said, pointing her glaive at Adriana who just rolled her eyes.

"So you're one of these Sailor Senshi I've heard of. No matter, you'll be dead soon. Arise, my Shadow Demon!" Adriana shouted, slashing her arm towards the still unconscious Lewis whose body was enveloped in darkness that slowly floated back to the ground. From the darkness emerged a large monster, its flesh ink black, as were the clothes covering its body. Its eyes were blood red, and its size must have increased at least three times from Lewis' form.

"Shadow Ranger!" It shouted out, raising its hands high. Sailor Saturn prepared herself, glaive raised high.

"I'll leave this to you, Shadow Ranger. Tata!" Adriana waved, as she was sucked into a small black hole of darkness. Shadow Ranger lounged forward.

"Dark Gash!" Shadow Ranger shouted out, swinging out his arms and sending a wave of dark energy at Sailor Saturn, who glared at him.

"Silent Wall!" She shouted out, holding her Silence Glaive high to block the attack. As Shadow Ranger prepared to attack again, something strange happened. Both looked up as a pink cloud formed in the sky, and the cloud tore open. From the cloud fell a short, pink haired Odango girl, a small grey kitten, and a black ball resembling a cat with an antennae.

"Hotaru!" The girl called out, and Saturn reached out her arms, adjusting her position so she was right below the girl, who grabbed the grey kit as she fell. Saturn caught the pink haired girl with little difficulty and looked at her with wide eyes.

"Rini…what're you doing here?" Sailor Saturn asked, setting the young Princess of Earth down on her feet. But Rini didn't have time to answer before Shadow Ranger unleashed another Dark Gash attack. Saturn didn't have time to put up another Silent Wall, so instead she tried to protect Rini by hugging the girl close to her body, her back facing the Shadow Demon. When she did not feel the attack hit her, Sailor Saturn looked up and suppressed a gasp when she saw she and Rini were protected by a golden shield. Before them stood an unfamiliar Senshi. Her skin was a coffee brown, and she had knee length straight black hair with amethyst eyes. She was short, her skirt and collar were red with green stripes on the collar. Her front and back bows were green, and a red, round jewel shone on the center of the front bow. She also had mid-forearm high gloves, rimmed with red and green ribbons. Under her skirt was a transparent green layer. Around her neck was a red choker with a green jewel matching the one on her front bow. Her earrings were small, hanging hearts. She had red heels and green ribbons around her ankles.

"Are you safe, Sailor Saturn?" The Senshi asked, looked at her over her shoulder. Saturn felt drawn to the girl for some reason, and she nodded vaguely. The girl smiled as two more Senshi joined her, and she lowered the shield.

The Senshi to her left was tall with pale, fair skin. She had long, blonde hair pulled up into a high ponytail on top of her head and cerulean eyes. Her Senshi uniform had a green skirt and green collar with two teal stripes. Both her back and front bows were teal, and the jewel in the center of the front bow was round and green. Her gloves went up to her mid-forearm and were rimmed green with a teal ribbon. Her choker was green with a round, teal pendant. Under her green skirt was a teal, transparent layer. She had blue, star shaped earrings. Her shoes were green heels with teal ribbons around her ankles.

The Senshi to the right of the first had a height in the middle of the other two. She had wavy black hair that went to her mid back and icy blue eyes. Her skin was a light brown. She had a purple skirt and color with a transparent green layer under her skirt. Her front and back bows were green, and in the center of the front bow was a crescent shaped purple moon. Her boots were purple and knee high with a green ribbon around her ankles. Her gloves rose to her elbows, rimmed purple with green ribbons. From her ears hung two green hearts. The three Senshi narrowed their eyes at the Shadow Ranger, the middle and shortest one stepping forward.

"You have attacked the Solar System Senshi I was born to protect, which is something I can not forgive! Protecting the goodness of the world with care and destruction, I am the difference between life and death! I am Sailor Pandora, Soldier of Annihilation and Devotion!"

"Destruction and tragedy plague all worlds, and I posses the power to destroy all that is held near and dear. I am Sailor Titania, Soldier of Knowledge and Tragedy!"

"Demolishing all evil in this world is my destiny, and I will fight for my Universe. I am Sailor Comet, Soldier of Combat and Terrain."

"We are the Guardian Angel Senshi of Thalia, and in the name of the cosmos, we shall punish you!" They all finished, facing the Shadow Demon.

"Dark Gash!" Shadow Ranger shouted out, and Sailor Saturn jumped in front of them.

"Silent Wall!" She shouted out, protecting the new Senshi and Rini from the Shadow Demon's blast.

"Thank you, Sailor Saturn, but this is our enemy. And its our turn to take care of it!" Sailor Pandora hissed, and when Saturn lowered her wall, the three Senshi jumped into action.

"Comet Charge Evolution!" Sailor Comet attacked.

"Titania Crystal Canon!" Sailor Titania shouted. The Shadow Demon screamed from the pain of the attack, but it did not fall to its knees.

"How do we defeat this without Celestia?" Comet called to Pandora, who shrugged.

"You don't need to!" A new voice called. All of the beings in the park looked into a nearby tree as one Shadow figure stepped out onto a high branch.

"In the shadows of the night, the clouds disperse and the heavens shine through…" The figure said, leaning against the trunk of the tree. From the same tree, another figure stepped out on an opposite branch, also hidden by the canopy of the trees.

"Even hidden, the powers of the sun and moon are great, vanquishing the concealed evil…" With that, she leaped to another tree, and the first girl leaped to the tree opposite of her.

"We defend the light and the integrity of the Universe…"

"And we destroy the shadows and banish the darkness…"

"I am Sailor Celestia, Soldier of Harmony and Light!"

"I am Sailor Eclipse, Soldier of Frost and Hidden Secrets!"

"We are the Sailor Guardian Angels!"

"In the name of the Heavens…"

"And the Sun and the Moon…"

"We shall punish you!"

"Celestia, Eclipse!" Sailor Titania called happily, turning her back on Shadow Ranger, who chose then to attack the purple and green Senshi, who was immediately protected by the power of Sailor Pandora's golden light shield.

"Nice to see you too, Titania." Celestia said, holding her glaive out towards her right. The girl winked, before turning back to the Shadow Demon.

"You have plagued the people of this planet long enough, Shadow Demon, and it is time your dark soul is again in the heart of this man. Heavenly Aurora Invocation!" Celestia shouted out, closing her eyes. She twirled her glaive above her head and around her, creating gold rings of light around her. She spun once, whirling the glaive around her, collecting the five rings together and pointing them back at the Shadow Demon as power exploded from around her in waves. As she opened her eyes, she held her glaive above her head, and pointed it down again with speed and force towards the Shadow Demon, unleashing the powerful attack. The rings surrounded Shadow Ranger, and the demon screamed out in fury and pain as the rings of light sucked the darkness from him. In an explosive show of light, Shadow Ranger disappeared, and was replaced with an unconscious Lewis as he laid on the ground. Celestia and Eclipse jumped from their places in the tree and walked towards Titania, Comet, and Pandora.

"Princess Celestia…" Titania murmured, and she lunged herself at her Princess, hugging her tightly and crying into her shoulder. Celestia couldn't stop the tears that also fell from her eyes.

"My dear Senshi, you have no idea how overjoyed I am to see you." Celestia confessed, hugging Titania close. Eclipse immediately hugged Pandora and Comet at the same time, all of the Thalia Senshi crying.

"We weren't sure if you guys were alive…" Pandora whispered.

""We were so afraid we lost you!" Eclipse said, running a hand through the girls black hair.

"I'm so relived to see you alive and well, Princess Celestia!" Comet exclaimed, hugging her after Titania let go.

"Same to you three!" The Princess replied. Saturn and Rini looked on with quiet eyes, not wanting to ruin the reunion of the Thalia Senshi. They all seemed so happy to be together, it just seemed wrong to separate them. Saturn looked around to be sure no one else was around or watching, and transformed back to Hotaru.

"Am I missing something, Hotaru?" Rini asked Hotaru quietly, but Sailor Pandora heard her and turned to them.

"Hotaru, I'm supposing she knows…everything?" Pandora asked, and Hotaru nodded.

"Um, so you're…Sailor Pandora…" Hotaru began, and Pandora nodded. Celestia and Eclipse exchanged a glance before transforming back into Leilani and Noelle.

"You guys should deem your human forms on this planet." Noelle advised, glancing in the direction of the still unconscious Lewis. The three other Thalia Senshi exchanged a glance before nodding and de-transforming.

Sailor Pandora became a beautiful young girl with knee length black hair and amethyst eyes. Her shirt was a red halter top with capri shorts and platform shoes, perfect attire for the spring season.

Sailor Titania retained her mid back length black hair and her pale blue eyes. She wore a purple tank top and dark blue skinny jeans with light purple flip flops.

Sailor Comet kept her hair in its high blonde ponytail and her cerulean eyes. Her wore a green tee shirt with skinny black ripped jeans, Her shoes were green and black sandals.

"Nice to see you again, Aaliyah, Naomi, Chelsea." Leilani said, smiling at the three girls in turn.

"Thank you. Honestly, it's nice to be in this form again." Aaliyah/Pandora confessed.

"It actually is. So, are we going back to school?" Naomi/Titania asked, hands on her hips.

"Hope not. We don't need it, I think we got enough education on Thalia." Chelsea/Comet groaned. Noelle smiled.

"Oh no, we have classes, so you have classes with us too. We'll have you registered by Monday." Noelle promised. Chelsea groaned again.

"I just got a reason to not like Earth." Chelsea complained, putting her hands behind her head and walked away from them. Naomi sighed.

"We have some friends to go and find, Princess. But we will see you soon." Naomi vowed, hugging Leilani before going. Aaliyah walked away too and Hotaru followed.

"Wait, Hotaru, where are you going?" Rini called, and Hotaru stopped in her tracks and looked back at the young girl.

"I…I'm not really sure…" The girl replied. Aaliyah turned back to the black haired young girl and smiled.

"It's alright if you want to come with me, Hotaru. I am your Guardian Angel Senshi, and its only natural you and I are connected." Aaliyah explained. Hotaru nodded and ran to catch up with the girl, smiling at her. Rini watched her run away.

"Hotaru…" She murmured. When she felt a hand on her shoulder, she turned and saw Leilani smiling gently at her.

"Don't worry, Hotaru's just bonding with her Guardian Angel Senshi. They're bound to spend some time together, and it will be a lot of time in the beginning, but do not worry, you will not lose your friend." She promised, kneeling down beside the girl and hugging her close. Rini nodded vaguely.

"Do you…do you know Serena?" The pink haired girl asked quietly. Leilani nodded.

"Yes, I do. And I know where she is. How about as I take you to her, you tell me all about yourself, alright?" Rini nodded in agreement to Leilani's proposal and the two took off towards the Cherry Hill Temple. Leilani turned and gestured to the still as a statue Noelle to follow, and the girl nodded, going after her Princess.

**-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O**

"I couldn't find her." Amara confessed as she re-joined the Senshi at the Cherry Hill Temple. Michelle nodded and sat beside her.

"I'm sure Hotaru hasn't gotten very far." Lita said, leaning forward. A silence fell over the Solar System Senshi as they all inwardly wondered where their youngest, and probably most powerful, friend and Senshi had gone. It wasn't like Hotaru to wander off…

"Don't worry, she'll be back." A familiar voice said. All heads shot up when they saw Leilani and Noelle standing unusually close together.

"How do you know?" Raye demanded, glaring at the Thalia Senshi, who shook their heads with smiles on their faces.

"Because, Hotaru left with one of our closest friends. She's in good hands, trust us." Noelle replied, shrugging.

"But we don't know that person, how can we know their trustworthy?" Raye shouted, jumping to her feet. Leilani smiled.

"Hotaru is right where she belongs-with her Guardian Angel Senshi. That's where she needs to be right now, isn't that right, Trista?" The Princess of Thalia looked towards the tall woman, who gave a small nod.

"But that's not really why we're here." Noelle threw in. Amara narrowed her eyes at them.

"Then just why are you here? I thought we made it clear outsiders like you weren't welcome, especially outsiders against our future King." The blonde haired woman said angrily. Noelle smiled.

"To introduce our newest friend, whom I'm sure you already know." Leilani replied, and the two girls stepped away from each other to reveal Rini, who smiled at them.

"Rini!" Everyone exclaimed.

"Hey, everyone!" She replied, smiling. Trista smiled widely. Yes, she would have to explain what Rini's true mission was, but it was obvious that now, the future may actually be saved.

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**Monday Morning**

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Serena wanted to scream in irritation. She was running late _again._ Not late enough that she'd get detention because she would run in after the lecture began, but late enough she wouldn't have very long to nap before class started. She ran into the classroom, but stopped immediately. Behind her desk stood Mina, with a wide mischievous smile on her face, Lita, who smiled to herself, Amy, who was trying to pretend to only be interested in her book. But it was obvious she wasn't. Beside them stood Leilani and Noelle on one side, Aaliyah, Naomi, and Chelsea on the other. They were blocking the desk behind her, the desk behind Amy's seat which was to the right of hers, and the desk to the behind Mina's seat, which was to the left of her own. Serena looked at them all strangely. She sat down at her desk and looked up at them.

"Hey…what's up…?" She asked, looking at each of them in turn. Mina smiled.

"Oh, nothing, Serena!" She replied, smiling. Then, the door to the room opened and Ms. Ishikawa walked in.

Serena turned around and her friend's hurried to their seats. She yawned already as the lecture just begun, and surveyed where the three new students sat. In front of Leilani, who sat to Mina's left, was Naomi. To Naomi's left and in front of Noelle was Aaliyah. In front of Mina, and to the right of Leilani, was Chelsea. Serena already felt herself growing bored, and she fought to keep her eyelids open. She honestly didn't care about math, let alone lectures about it. And she never seemed to sleep enough at night.. Leaning to her right, Serena watched everything get glazed over, the teachers words becoming incoherent. Her eyelids drooped and everything grew darker and darker as she felt herself drift away…and her thoughts ran wild as sleep wrapped her in its warm and gentle embrace…

And that was why Serena jumped when a pencil poked her in the back and a forgotten voice said:

"Going to sleep already, Odango?"

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**Jazz: This is our longest chapter…ever! 37 pages, about 13,293 words! **

**Layla: So congratulate us!**

**Aqua: Lots of love to all who added this to their faves or reviewed!**

**Kelsey: And if you have not reviewed, **_**please please please please please please please please please please please **__**REVIEW!**_

**Emma: All of you people who already reviewed…well, keep it up!**

**Jazz: Review please, or add to your faves! R&R!**


	6. Back to the Basics

**Sailor Moon: The Shadows Arc**

**Chapter 5: Back to the Basics**

**Disclaimer: For the sixth time around, don't own it, baby!**

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**Jazz: For all you reviewers, thank you!**

**Layla: For you non reviewers, well, review!**

**Aqua: Please? Pretty, pretty, pretty, pretty please with cherries and silver crystals on top?**

**Emma: Don't promise what you can't give, Aqua.**

**Aqua: You don't know what I got!**

**Kelsey: And no one wants to know…**

**Jazz: **_**Anyways**_**, thanks all you lovely reviewers and adders to favorites list! If you have done neither of those things, please do them! And **_**Partially Important Notice:**_** We know that there is, in the manga, already a Sailor Phobos and Sailor Deimos. Well, we never read the manga. So we have our own versions of those two Senshi. Hope you guys aren't too disappointed with that! And **_**MORE IMPORTANT NEWS: **_**The Sailor Moon manga and Codename: Sailor V manga are both coming to the US in September! Hope you're all as excited as we are! See you all at the end of the chappie!**

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"Seiya! What're you doing here?" Serena demanded during the lunch period. For once, food was the _last _thing on her mind! Seiya smirked back at her.

"Not exactly the warm welcome I was looking for, but I guess it'll do." He shrugged, sitting on his desk. Mina wasn't paying any attention to the two because she had turned in her seat and was trying to start up a conversation with Yaten. Amy and Taiki were having their own discussion about things that had changed on each others world.

"Oh Serena, please, don't be such a drama queen." Naomi chastised, standing beside the blonde.

"Yeah, you shouldn't be. Do you know what we had to go through to get these guys to come here?" Chelsea asked, putting her hands on her hips as she stood besides Naomi.

"I'm not complaining. As weird as it is seeing you three in male forms, I have to say, all three of you are quite…attractive." Aaliyah confessed, leaning on Yaten's chair. The silver haired teen scoffed.

"No need to state the obvious." He said. Aaliyah giggled and Noelle smiled.

"Serena, you _know _why their here." Noelle pointed out, turning to face the cerulean eyed blonde.

"I know, but…their…its just…" Serena began, grappling for the correct words.

"So I _do _leave you speechless, then." Seiya smirked. Serena turned on him angrily.

"Seiya, you haven't grown up at all, have you?" She demanded. Noelle giggled as Serena turned and walked away from the raven haired man, who smiled. Noelle looked up at him.

"You feel for her, don't you?" She asked quietly. Seiya looked at her strangely.

"What makes you think that?" He asked, ignoring the looks girls in the classroom were giving him and his 'brothers'. It was bound to be this way, returning after a year. One would think the number of Three Lights fans would've decreased during the year they'd been gone, but that was obviously not the case. Their fans had calmed down a bit, maybe, yes. But if nothing else, the fan base had actually _increased_.

"I am the Soldier of Hidden Secrets. Secrets can be feelings, and I can tell you feel deeply for her." Noelle explained, sitting in Serena's chair. Seiya shrugged nonchalantly, turning from her.

"It wouldn't matter, anyway. She has a boyfriend." He replied. Noelle felt sadness tugging the strings at her heart, and she frowned and stood up, placing one hand on his shoulder.

"Destiny is written in stone, but only powerful waves can wash away those words. And Seiya, only you can find the power within yourself to become that wave." She murmured. Without waiting for him to react, she turned, a broad smile on her face as she walked up to Leilani. Seiya couldn't help but watch her walk away. He often glanced at her in class to see if she would look back at him. She never did.

**-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O**

"So, tomorrow after school, you promise to show us where you guys are living? You've been all mysterious about it now that you and the Starlights, I mean, Three Lights are back. And that we have been having meetings with the Inner Guardian Solar System Senshi." Leilani said, gesturing between herself and Noelle as she watched Naomi, Aaliyah, and Chelsea prepare to leave with Seiya, Yaten, and Taiki.

"I don't think it matters since we don't sleep there, but sure." Naomi shrugged. Noelle raised an eyebrow.

"Then where do you sleep?" She asked, hands on her hips. The three other Thalia Senshi exchanged a glance.

"We sleep on the roof of where we live. It's relaxing, looking at the stars. Reminds us of home. Plus we take it as on opportunity to search the night sky for the Shadows." Aaliyah replied. Leilani raised both her eyebrows so they were hidden by her bangs.

"No Senshi of mine are to sleep on a roof. Tonight, after we meet with the Solar System Senshi, you three are coming to stay with us. Meet us at the park in two hours." Leilani ordered. Naomi, Aaliyah, and Chelsea nodded before bowing to Leilani and going off after the Kou brothers, waving behind them. Noelle turned to Leilani.

"Off to another meeting, then?" She asked, and Leilani nodded, and the two waited for Serena, Mina, Lita and Amy to come out so they could head over and meet Raye and Rini at Serena's place.

**-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O**

"Hey, we're got to go meet some guys to be our new managers. If we're gonna be here, we may as well be in the music business again." Seiya said. Naomi nodded.

"Well, we'll meet you guys back at the apartment." Naomi replied.

"And we won't sleep at home, wow it feels good calling it that, because Leilani and Noelle invited us to spend the night with them. We're all meeting up at the park later." Chelsea added. Seiya nodded and he, Yaten and Taiki went off in one direction. Naomi and Chelsea went in the other. Aaliyah looked between both retreating groups before deciding to walk with her 'brothers'.

"What're you doing? You're supposed to go back with the other two." Yaten said. Aaliyah smiled at him.

"Well, if you guys are gonna be my 'adoptive brothers', I at least want to meet your future manager. And besides, I can tell whether a person is, I guess you'd say, good or bad. It was my blessed Thalia Gift. Or at least, one of them." Aaliyah explained. Taiki looked at her.

"A Thalia Gift?" He asked, and Aaliyah nodded, a wide grin in her face.

"Back on Thalia, _everyone _had a gift. A power of sorts, I guess you would say. Of course, the Royal Family's gifts are either quite powerful or they have more than one. Both such is the case for Leilani, or Princess Celestia. Those who are given the honor of being her Senshi, such as me, are also given more than one ability. Everyday citizens of Thalia have gifts, but their not very powerful. Maybe telekinesis, or telepathy or something. Everyone gets a simple gift like that. But the more advanced ones are only given to the Divine Family or the Princess' Senshi." Aaliyah elaborated. Taiki nodded in understanding and Yaten turned to her.

"So, you have weird gifts and powers and stuff you use in your civilian form?" He asked. Aaliyah smiled mischievously and flicked her wrist upwards with her finger pointed outwards. All of a sudden, Yaten's shirt shot up over his head. He hurriedly pulled it back down and fixed his hair. Yaten glared at her while Seiya busted into fits of laughter.

"That proof enough for you?" She asked, giggling behind her hand. But her giggles soon turned into full on laughter.

"Not funny." Yaten said simply, walking ahead of the two with Taiki.

"Very funny." Seiya said to Aaliyah, causing her to burst into more laughs. She smiled at Seiya. She hadn't known the Starlights, or rather the Three Lights, for very long, and even if being siblings was the hoax they were gonna use, she felt herself growing attached to them. Aaliyah smiled up at the sun, feeling its rays warm her skin as she and Seiya continued to joke about the incident with Yaten.

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Leilani and Noelle expected to see Raye and Rini when they walked into Serena's house. What they did not expect to see was Raye, Rini, Trista, Amara, Michelle, and Hotaru. Or Hotaru waiting for them anxiously, only to be disappointed when she saw them. She eagerly peered around them, but her frown only deepened.

"Aaliyah didn't come with you, did she…?" Hotaru asked. Leilani and Noelle looked at her sadly when Serena shook her head. Leilani reached into her school briefcase and pulled out her cell phone, which each of the Thalia Senshi had to keep in touch, and Leilani wanted the Sol Senshi to use, and dialed a number. She knelt before Hotaru before presenting the item to her.

"Hit that 'Send' button, and put it to your ear." Leilani instructed. Hotaru did as she said. After about four rings, a voice picked up on the other end.

"_Hello?_ _Leilani?"_

"Aaliyah!" Hotaru exclaimed, a wide smile on her face.

"_Hotaru! What's up?"_

"How come you didn't come to the meeting?"

"_Well, I would've come had I known you'd be there! Amara really needs to meet Naomi. I'd head over right now but I'm with Seiya and the guys using my ability to help them pick out a new manager. If we get done early, I'll head right over to your place! Then you, me, and Rini can go and hang at the movies or something."_

"Can Leilani come with? And Noelle?" Hotaru asked earnestly. She heard Aaliyah chuckle on the other end.

"_If its alright with them, why don't we? Or better yet, all of the Senshi could hang out! It would be nice to introduce Naomi to Amara, they've gotta meet eventually, you know."_

"As long as I can hang out with you, Aaliyah. I haven't been able to since I walked off with you after the battle with that Shadow Demon, and it feels weird being away from you for so long."

"_I know, it feels weird for me too, Hotaru. As your Guardian Angel Senshi, it is my job to guard you, and to bond with you. And until we bond, we will feel very disconnected. After meeting, Guardian Angel Senshi and the Senshi they were born to guard must bond, or else they will both feel their powers weaken until they fail them all together. After actual bonding, which is basically becoming acquaintances, fighting in battle together, that sort of stuff, we've pretty much got it down packed."_

"So…after we bond, are you gonna leave me?" Aaliyah couldn't help but gasp as she heard the sadness in Hotaru's voice.

"_Hotaru, don't you ever think that! I don't think I could bare to leave you, sweetheart. I don't know you that much right now, but I know I'll love you once I do! I can tell, you're a beautiful, gentle, smart young girl. And no matter what, I will always be there for you."_

"Friends forever?"

"_Friends forever."_ Aaliyah confirmed. Hotaru walked into the next room, still talking to the girl and Leilani smiled after her.

"Its nice seeing a Senshi and her Guardian Angel Senshi bond." Noelle said, and Leilani nodded agreement.

"But Hotaru's acting strange. Ever since she met Aaliyah, she seems distant. Off." Michelle said, and Leilani nodded.

"That'll happen. Just wait until after they bond, they'll both be back to normal." Leilani explained.

"How long could it take them to bond?" Amara asked.

"Depends. Some Senshi take a few days, few weeks, few months…some even take a year." Noelle replied.

"I think it'll take her and Naomi about three years." Leilani whispered to Noelle, and the girl giggled behind her hand.

"Months…oh my God…" Serena whispered. Noelle turned to her.

"What happened?" The brown eyed Princess asked. Serena's eyes glistened with unshed tears.

"My wedding…its in four months…" She murmured. Noelle's eyes widened.

"You're getting married…to…?" Her voice trailed off and Serena turned to her.

"Darien." She replied simply. Rini smiled at the statement while Leilani and Noelle looked at her with wide, horrified eyes. The two narrowed their eyes at her.

"Sorry to hear that." Leilani replied angrily. Serena looked hurt by the response and Mina and Lita stepped up.

"What's your problem?" Lita asked. Noelle turned to her.

"Nothing, just that your Moon Princess is preparing to endanger the entire Universe!" She snapped.

"She has to marry Darien, or I'll never be born!" Rini objected. Leilani snorted.

"You Sol Senshi can be so naïve. Hotaru!" Leilani called. The black haired girl ran into the room and handed Leilani the phone, and the girl's anger melted immediately at the look on Hotaru's face. She honestly looked sad she could no longer talk to Aaliyah.

"Here you go, Leilani. Give my regards to Aaliyah." The young girl said, her voice soft. Leilani smiled gently.

"Would you like to come with us, Hotaru?" She asked, kneeling before the girl. Hotaru looked up at her with wide, hopeful eyes.

"Really?" She asked. Noelle smiled.

"Really. We're gonna wait at our apartment until Aaliyah, Naomi, and Chelsea are gonna come over, and you're more than welcome to wait with us." Noelle replied.

"Can I go Mama Trista?" Hotaru asked, turning to the green haired woman. She nodded, a smile on her face. Hotaru cheered and followed Leilani and Noelle out the door. Amara wheeled on the Soldier of Time and Space.

"Why did you let her go out with those outsiders?" Amara demanded, and Trista looked at her calmly.

"We need to trust them." She replied simply, and Amara glared at her.

"They are outsiders, and it is our duty to keep them out of our Solar System and away from our Moon Princess." Michelle recited, and Trista shook her head.

"Besides, they're trying to separate Serena and Darien! They can't do that!" Rini shouted out, and Trista turned to her.

"Small Lady, there are some things you do not know of. Some things you don't understand." Trista replied, and the room fell silent. Mina shook her head angrily.

"I trust Leilani and Noelle, and I'm gonna get to the bottom of all this hatred they have for Darien!" The blonde proclaimed, and with that, she ran out of the Tsukino house and down the sidewalk, hoping to catch up to the girls before they got to far.

"Well, I don't trust them. There's something fishy about those girls." Raye stated, and Amara nodded agreement. Rini stared at Trista who sighed, gazing at the floor. She was grateful for Mina's interruption, or she may have had to explain all the extra knowledge she had about the future, but she had a feeling with them was where she belonged. So silently, she stood and walked out the door and ran after Mina.

"These outsiders are doing too much harm. The sooner we get them out of our Solar System, the better." Amara said, and Michelle nodded agreement. Serena watched as her two friends left her home, tears in her eyes. What was so wrong with Darien?

**-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-**

"So Naomi is Amara's Guardian Senshi?" Hotaru asked. She was walking between Leilani and Noelle, holding each of their hands with one of their own. Leilani nodded.

"She is, but we don't think they'll get along very well, what about you?" Leilani asked, and Hotaru shook her head. Noelle opened her mouth to say something when a voice calling their names stopped her.

"Leilani! Noelle! Hotaru! Wait up!" Mina called. The three turned, Hotaru smiling at the blonde while Leilani and Noelle looked at her with disdain.

"What's up, Mina?" Hotaru asked, and Mina stopped to catch her breath. As she bent at her waist, hands on her knees as she struggled for breath, they saw another figure hurrying towards them. It was Trista, and Hotaru's smile grew while Noelle's face softened. Leilani just continued to glare the two Solar System Senshi.

"Is it alright if we join you?" Trista asked, looking at Leilani. She knew the hatred in her eyes wasn't directed at her, but more so to her future King. Which was why as a figure turned the corner, her jaw nearly went slack. Leilani looked at her curiously before turning to around to face none other than Darien Shields. She and Noelle looked at him with such contempt, Trista thought the young man may die on the spot.

"Hey. Is the meeting still going on at Serena's?" He asked. The question was obviously meant for Trista, Hotaru, or Mina. As Hotaru opened her mouth to answer, Leilani and Noelle turned up their noses and walked past him. Hotaru looked between Leilani's retreating figure and Darien's expectant eyes before running after the two girls. Mina answered his question and followed the three, and Trista just nodded and mumbled a quick hello before also following. Darien sighed before continuing on his way when a rustle in the bushes made him stop. Two figures leaped from their hiding spot and flipped midair before landing before him, back to back. It was Leilani and Noelle.

"Stay away from our kind, Brother to the Prince of Shadows." Noelle ordered. Darien narrowed his eyes at her.

"No problem." He replied curtly, trying to walk past them, but was shocked when he found he could not. Reaching up a hand, he felt an invisible wall that prevented him from passing. He turned and narrowed his at the two Thalia humanoids.

"You will not pass." Leilani said angrily. Darien took a deep calming breath.

"Look, I know you think I'm related to this Shadow Prince-"

"We _know _your related to him," Noelle intervened.

"And we plan to expose you for the dark seed you are." Leilani said, her voice dark. Darien looked almost wounded at her comment. Almost. But more so upset and insulted.

"I am the Prince of Earth, and future King of Crystal Tokyo. You are on my planet. How am I possibly evil?" He asked, leaning on a wall. Leilani and Noelle crossed their arms and looked at each other out of the corner of their eyes before looking back up at him.

"Leilani is the Princess of the Heavens and the Universe, yet she allows you to exist. But that could easily be rearranged." Noelle growled out, scowling at the 'Prince of Earth'. Darien shook his head.

"If you are here to help us against these new Shadow enemies, than I want us to at least be able to get along." Darien said, his voice edging onto the lines of a plea. But Leilani and Noelle's anger only intensified.

"Too late for that, Little Prince. There will never be peace between us. And if you dare cause harm to the past Moon Princess in anyway, I can promise you the most painful and excruciating death imaginable." Leilani vowed, and with that, a strong wind blew, and Darien crouched down, shielding his eyes from bits of dirt and small debris blowing around him. As quickly as it appeared, the wind died down, and when Darien looked up again, the two Thalia humanoids had disappeared.

**-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O**

"Where were you?" Mina asked. A breeze had just blown by causing all of them to cover and protect their faces from any stray flying debris and when they looked up, there were Leilani and Noelle. Who'd just disappeared not even ten moments earlier.

"Oh, nowhere." Leilani shrugged, walking ahead. The blonde shrugged and followed the other Senshi on their way to their apartment. In the few days they'd known them, the Sol Senshi had learned it was best not to overly question the Thalia Senshi. They either got defensive or stopped talking all together and just left. And they needed information, and the Thalia humanoids Fight-or-Flight instinct issues wouldn't be of very good help. When they arrived at the apartment, Mina's jaw went slack. They only had the necessities. Beds, sofas, dressers, and a few outfits. That was it.

"Where's all your stuff?" The Goddess of Love and Beauty asked, looking around the room frantically. It was so deprived of color and life it was frightening.

"Well, we have more than enough money, we're just not finding much time to go and find more outfits and all kinds of other things." Noelle explained.

"And there are only two of us, who also don't have time to go out and buy paint…or to paint the room." Leilani added. Mina looked at them with a wide smile.

"Well, what're friends for? I'd help you guys out! And I'm sure Aaliyah, Naomi, and Chelsea wouldn't mind. Not to mention Hotaru. And maybe even a few of the other Senshi?" Mina's smile widened, and Noelle and Leilani exchanged a nervous glance.

"That's a nice offer, Mina, but we've already kind of messed up with the Inner Senshi." Noelle said, a sad smile on her face. Mina faltered for a moment.

"Well, that's kind of why-" Mina began, but was interrupted when a knock sounded at the door. All five of the Senshi exchanged a glance before Leilani walked over to the door and opened it up slowly. She smiled widely when she say it was Naomi and Chelsea, who just looked shocked to see her.

"What're you guys doing here?" Leilani asked, leaning on the door frame.

"We should ask you the same question. We came down to ask if the neighbors had the number to this great takeout place we heard about." Chelsea explained. Noelle walked over to the doorway.

"Neighbors? _This _is where you guys live?" Noelle asked, and Naomi nodded.

"Yeah, right next door." She said, gesturing to a room directly across from Leilani's.

"How come we've never seen you?" Leilani's voice held traces of suspicion while Mina walked around the apartment, planning how to decorate and everything.

"Not sure. Maybe we all just leave at different times. But its weird you haven't seen Seiya or Yaten or Taiki." Chelsea commented. Leilani nodded slowly before standing to the side to allow the two girls entrance to their home.

"Hey Hotaru, Mina, Trista." Naomi greeted. The Senshi returned her greeting as everyone settled down in the living room. Noelle excused herself to go and prepare some tea for them all, while Leilani sat on a sofa with Hotaru on the floor between her legs, and she brushed the young girls hair gingerly. Hotaru was currently telling Leilani all about her junior high, which Leilani was actually interested in. It sounded a lot different than the schools on Thalia.

"So what kind of classes did you have?" Hotaru asked, and Leilani stopped mid brush stroke and looked into the distance, trying to remember.

"Hmm…I remember the history of the Universe lessons, mostly about the history of Thalia and your Solar System, but my mother always made me miss them. Naomi, Aaliyah, Chelsea, Noelle, Alayna, Nevaeh, Raven, Justine, Mimi, and Lili." Leilani replied. Hotaru furrowed her brow.

"Who're Alayna? And Nevaeh, Raven, Justine, Mimi and Lili?" Hotaru tried to turn to Leilani as she asked the question, and saw the older girls coffee brown eyes glisten with unshed tears.

"They were my Senshi…the ones lost in the Shadow War…" Leilani replied, and the atmosphere suddenly changed to sadness. Hotaru bit her lower lip but couldn't help her question.

"What were they like?" She asked quietly, and Leilani smiled softly at the girl. She reached down and grabbed the girl around the rib cage before pulling her up onto the chair beside her. It was an old move for little children, but Leilani appeared to have little to no difficulty lifting up the girl. Hotaru was only eleven, and quite small for her age.

'_Much like Satori_'…Leilani thought as she leaned back, thinking of her younger brother and toying with the necklace around her neck. She was dragged from her thoughts by Hotaru awkwardly clearing her throat and Leilani nodded as she remembered the near and dear ones she'd lost.

"Alayna was known as Sailor Thalassa, Sailor of Splendor and Sky, Guardian Angel Senshi of Sailor Neptune. I guess you could say she was our Michelle. She was elegant, graceful…I envied her, actually. Seemed she was perfect at just about everything. Especially playing the harp. We would gather some days in her presence just to hear her play. It was angelic, actually, her music. Nevaeh was Sailor Himalia, Soldier of Tempest and Might. She was the Guardian Angel Senshi to Sailor Jupiter. She and Chelsea were, like me, very into Thalian sports. She was more mature then the rest of us, or at least when she wanted to be. But she also seemed to have boy trouble, and she thought she was cursed to never find true love. She, like Naomi and Amara, have a few protection and anger management troubles. Justine was Sailor Hydra, Guardian Angel Senshi to you, Sailor Pluto. She was the Soldier of Patience and Essence. Like you, she was quite mature. The mother of our group, I guess you could call her. She was very intelligent, kept us all in line. She was like a librarian or something, with all the time she spent in there. I think Amy would like her, and so would you, Trista. Then there was Tamara, Sailor Super Nova, Soldier of Radiance and Detonation. She wasn't born to guard any Sol Senshi, but that doesn't mean she can't be anointed to. She was also kind of elegant I guess you'd say, and quite mature and protective of me, and I loved her like the elder sister I never had. I loved _all_ my Senshi like this sisters I never had. And Raven, Sailor Black Hole, Soldier of Soldier of Darkness and Demise. She wasn't born to guard any one Solar System Senshi either. She was distant at times, so wise, she was also burdened by her knowledge. And one thing she always believed, destiny doesn't control our lives. When she wasn't distant or lost in her thoughts, she was wonderful. Fun, but she never revealed too much of herself, for fear. Fear that she never explained to us. That leaves Mimi and Lili, and oh, were those two trouble. But you couldn't help but love them. Mimi was Sailor Phobos, and Lili was Sailor Deimos. Sailor Phobos was the Soldier of Charm and Enchantment. Sailor Deimos was the Soldier of Telepathy and Clairvoyance. They were twins, so alike, and yet so different, it was scary. Mimi was younger, but not by much more than a few moments. She loved to act and sing, and was also very interested in reading and creative writing. That was her best class. She tried all sort of new things. Nothing could keep Mimi down. Her elder sister was Lili, but only Mimi called her that. Her real name is Lili-Star, the name she is…was best known as. She was a bit more contained than her sister. Unlike Lili-Star, she liked to study. Her best class, the worst for Mimi and I, was math. They both loved music…and they…all of them…" Leilani trailed off. Tears had been running silently down her cheeks until now, but she began sobbing with full force, one hand over her lips to muffle her cries.

"Leilani…" Hotaru murmured, and she wrapped her arms around the girl, feeling tears prick at her own eyes. Mina flew over to Leilani's other side and tried to comfort the weeping girl, but it was no use. She was lost in her own grief over losing her Senshi, her friends, her family. Naomi and Chelsea bowed their heads as they felt tears roll down their own cheeks.

Noelle reentered the room at just that moment, holding a tray with seven small cups filled with tea. She noticed Leilani's weak state and looked towards Naomi and Chelsea, whose shoulders shook as they wept silently. She turned to Trista with pleading eyes.

_-What happened?-_ Trista jumped at the sound of Noelle's voice inside of her mind and she looked at the girl with wide and confused eyes.

_-I'm sorry, I never got a chance to tell you. it's a gift given to those of high rank on Thalia, telepathy. Many Guardian Angel Senshi have used it to communicate with their Senshi, its quite simple. Just think what you want to say, and concentrate on me and only me. If you concentrate on anyone else, the thought will travel there-_ Noelle explained. Trista looked as the girls voice echoed in her head but Noelle was sitting before Leilani on the floor, one hand reassuringly on her knee. Trista blinked rapidly before nodding, knowing very well that Noelle wouldn't see her.

_-Leilani…will she be alright?- _The green haired woman mentally asked the girl, and she saw Noelle visiblytense at her words.

-_Honestly…I don't know. So much has been going on, Leilani hasn't had much time to grieve for them. Nor have I, but as Soldier of Hidden Secrets, I plan on keeping my emotions hidden as well. It would be selfish of me to hurt my Princess by letting her see me cry.-_ Even from across the room, and only through mental telepathy, Trista could hear the sadness in Noelle's voice. She was very dedicated to her Princess.

_-Don't you think she'd want to help you while you grieve, and you do the same for her?- _Trista watched as Noelle's eyes hardened, but saw the emotion quickly disappear when Leilani lifted her head to look at her. Leilani may not have, but Trista certainly saw through Noelle's façade.

_-I can not. I grieved once for a lost love, and my Princess was at my side for so long, she neglected much of what she loved. I won't do that again. I love my Princess, and the last thing I could ever want is to make her give up what she has for me. Never again.-_ Noelle's mental tone obviously meant she wanted to end the discussion and Trista nibbled on her lower lip, eyes downcast. The silence of the room was filled only with Leilani's sobs, which were becoming weak whimpers and hiccups, and the comforting words of Noelle, Hotaru, and Mina.

"I'm sorry." Leilani whispered, and Mina looked at her in shock.

"Sorry for what? There's nothing wrong with mourning over your lost Senshi. Its only natural." Mina replied, and Noelle turned away, slowly grabbing a cup of tea in the center of all the rest and handing it to Leilani, who cupped it in her hands before putting the cup to her mouth and tipping it upwards. The others, save Trista, grabbed their tea and drank it as well, and a depressing, empty silence fell across the room.

**-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-**

"_Adriana!_" Damien bellowed, hands clenched into tight fists at his sides. A swirling mass of Shadow Energy appeared before him and out popped Adriana, who bowed before him immediately.

"Prince Damien…" She addressed, and she spoke, Queen Shadow herself descended from her place above and decided to join the conversation. She smiled as she toyed with the hair on the nape of Damien's neck, while the young prince pretended not to notice.

"You have failed me today, why is that?" He asked, stepping towards her. Shadow frowned that he had moved and crossed her arms. She felt the fear and anxiety levels in Adriana spike to new heights, and she struggled to keep the laughter inside of her that was threatening to escape her lips silent.

"I am so very sorry, My Prince, but those disgusting Sailor Senshi ruined my plans." Adriana replied, her voice edging onto the sounds of a growl. Damien took another step towards her.

"What Senshi?" He asked, and Adriana looked up, the surprise very clear in her eyes.

"W-what?" Her voice was a horse whisper, and Damien scowled at her.

"_Who_ are the Sailor Senshi that defeated you?" He asked again, slowly. Adriana's anger spiked because he acted as though she was dim-witted, but she tried not to let it show.

"They called themselves Sailor Saturn, Sailor Pandora, Sailor Titania, Sailor Comet, Sailor Eclipse, and Sailor Celestia." Adriana replied, unleashing repressed memories of the battle. She'd done her best to forget the her humiliating defeat, but it seemed as though it all replayed through her mind. Every mistake. Every attack. Everything.

But Damien was no longer paying her any mind.

"Celestia…" He murmured, and with that, he quickly took off in the other direction. Adriana looked after him in confusion and Queen Shadow looked after him with anxiety. She turned back to Adriana quickly and offered her a small, forced smile.

"_You are dismissed._" She said, and with that, she took off after Damien, her legs disappearing as she floated after him as quickly as she could. Adriana blinked in confusion before rising to her feet and allowing the Shadows around her body engulf her.

**-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O**

"_Damien! Prince Damien, please wait!" _Queen Shadow called as she raced after the retreating Prince. He turned to her, hope and irritation in his eyes.

"What is it, Shadow? I don't have time to waste. I need to get to Earth." Prince Damien said, shuffling on his feet. Shadow frowned.

"_Prince Damien, do you think it is wise to go after the Divine Princess so soon? With her power, she could still evade you." _Shadow pointed out, and Damien glared at her.

"No, not again." He replied, and Shadow sighed. His obsessive infatuation with the Divine Princess was obviously unhealthy, it was clouding his better judgment.

"_Princess Celestia still has the Celestial Jewel, and with it, she can summon the Divine Crystal. If she uses its power against you, you will be destroyed. It is unwise to go after her so soon, My Prince._" Shadow replied, and she smiled softly as she saw realization dawn in Damien's eyes.

"You're right…" He whispered, and he leaned against a wall, staring at the black crystal ceiling. Shadow felt a small tinge of guilt seeing the hopelessness reflecting in the Prince's eyes. But only a small one.

"_Yes, I am. My Prince, the best thing to do now is send more of our Shadows to Earth and find Tainted Shadow Shards. Or they must take the Celestial Jewel, and by that, the Divine Crystal as well, from the Divine Princess. Then you will have the power to control the Universe, and the Princess' heart." _Shadow promised, and Damien's lips twitched up to form a small smile.

"You are right, Shadow. Send Adriana another target, and soon, very soon, we will have the Universe." And with that, Damien continued down the hallway. Shadow returned her legs to their form.

"_And the heart of the Divine Princess."_ Shadow added.

"And the heart of the Divine Princess." Damien parroted, and Shadow smiled, crossing her arms and turning in the direction of the Throne Room, which happened to be in the same direction they'd just come from.

**-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-**

Adriana sighed as she leaned against a wall, crossing her arms. She stared into a large silver orb that showed the events from her very recent battle against the Senshi, and she scowled at it.

She was in the refuge of the Shadow Kingdom, once known as the Divine Palace, on Thalia. Every golden crystal that had once made the foundation of this wondrous kingdom was now tainted black. To be specific, she was in what they called the Sinister Sisters wing. That's what her and sisters called it, at least. She swept her arm over the Dark Crystal Orb and watched as it was clouded with darkness. Heels clacking across the crystal halls caught her attention and she turned in the direction of the sound. In the doorway stood a woman with mid-back length purple hair that surrounded her face, shoulders and upper arms in a mass of curls. Her eyes were gray, and a black diamond similar Adriana's was on her forehead, and a single long black streak went down the middle of her scalp. Her shirt was a black halter top rimmed with purple, and her transparent skirt went to her upper thighs and revealed black panties below. Her shoes were ankle high purple heels rimmed with white. Her arms were covered in a spiral black tattoo that began on her chest and stretched down and ended on the back of her hand in snake heads. As she crossed her arms and leaned in the doorway, Adriana saw the snake on her right hand move a bit and hiss.

"What do you want, Kerri?" Adriana demanded, glowering at her elder sister. Kerri smiled wickedly and pushed herself off and strutted over to the orb and swept her arm over. Adriana watched with irritation as her battle with the Senshi played out before her elder sister's eyes. Kerri's smile grew as she turned to her sister and looked at her with arrogance reflecting in her eyes.

"So you couldn't even obtain one Shadow Shard?" She asked, sitting on the armrest of a nearby chair and crossing her legs. Adriana looked at her with contempt.

"It's not my fault, its those damn Sailor Senshi!" Adriana snapped, swiping at the orb. It toppled in its place but stayed in its main holder. Kerri shook her head and 'tsked' her sister.

"We were given that orb for a reason." She chastised, and Adriana scoffed.

"I will not fail again." Adriana vowed, and Kerri laughed maniacally.

"I don't believe big sister Chalice would very much so appreciate your failure." Kerri advised, and Adriana growled.

"You think I don't know that? Be sure you tell Chalice, sister Kerri, that I will bring us powerful Shadow Shards." Adriana whispered harshly as she moved her hands around the orb without making contact with it. She whispered to it in her native tongue, the language of Shadows. It was like a dark, haunting melody, using words that sounded of mixes of languages. Adriana smiled wickedly as another subject came into the orb, and she watched her next subject as she sat in a house, talking with a group of people.

"That's the next subject the orb has chosen for you? How pathetic…" Kerri scoffed, and she left the room while Adriana ignored her, and studied more on the girl.

"Amy Mizuno, prepare to join the Shadows…" She murmured, chuckling maniacally.

**-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-**

"Thank you, Mr. Kichida, we'll be in touch." Taiki said politely, shaking hands with a short, somewhat chubby man with brown eyes framed by round, silver rimmed glasses and thinning brown hair. The man nodded before turning on his way and leaving. Once he was out of earshot, Yaten groaned in irritation.

"Can't we just pick one and me done already?" He asked, repeatedly hitting the back of his head on the backing of the sofa they were sitting on. Aaliyah smiled sympathetically.

"Sorry, Yaten, but don't you want to pick a _good_ manager with _good _intentions?" She asked, bringing her knees up to her chest and crossing her arms over top of them before laying the left half on her face on her arms. Yaten scoffed.

"Well, what was wrong with the people we've met so far?" He inquired, looking at her and crossing his arms. Aaliyah frowned in thought.

"Well, lets see…Mr. Kichida was too money hungry, I mean, would you want a manager whose only in it for the money? I think not. And Ms. Konda? Heck no. I could sense it. She had her own purpose for you all, especially you, Yaten. And I don't think you want me to go into detail on that, trust me, you _really _don't. Mr. Okada was just…I can't even describe that freak. And I don't want to. And Mr. Murakami doesn't know the first things about pop stars or their music. He just wanted to be able to brag he got to work with guys like you." Aaliyah explained. All three of the Kou brothers looked at her.

"Are you serious?" Seiya asked, leaning towards her.

"As serious as a shark attack." She replied, smiling smugly as she crossed her arms, lowered her legs, and leaned back. Yaten groaned again.

"I say we pick one and be done with it." He said. Aaliyah chuckled and shook her head.

"Well, we only have one more potential manager to meet with today. Wait, actually, there's two of them…" Taiki began, re-reading the paper. Aaliyah leaned forward.

"Two? Or is it one?" She asked, and Taiki shrugged.

"I suppose its two, a married couple. Because unless it's a typo, it says Mr. and Mrs. Nakashima." Taiki replied, handing the paper to Seiya, who glanced at it and passed it to Yaten, who passed it to Aaliyah.

"I don't think it's a typo. So it's a husband wife team. Sounds promising." Aaliyah said, nodding and handing the paper back down to Taiki. The quartet fell silent when the door opened.

In walked a tall young man. He couldn't have been older than twenty two. His hair was short, wild and red and it framed his face. His eyes were a mix between light blue and grayish white. Beside him was a beautiful girl about three to four years younger than him. Her hair flowed down to her thighs, and her eyes were a dark scarlet red. Taiki stood and shook each of their hands in turn.

"Nice to meet you Mr. and Mrs. Nakashima. I am Taiki Kou, these are my brothers Seiya and Yaten, and the young woman over there is-" Taiki recited. It was the fifth time that day he had to. His brothers, Aaliyah their adopted sister, but the girl formed a wicked plan as she saw Yaten sit back and drink from a water bottle.

"Nice to meet you. I'm Aaliyah, Yaten's girlfriend." Aaliyah introduced, and she felt herself swell with self satisfaction when she saw Yaten's eyes open wide and he did a spit take, right then and there.

"W-what?" He sputtered out, and Aaliyah pouted.

"Aw, Yaten sweetie, don't tell me you wanted to keep it a secret! If they are to be your potential managers, they should at least know the truth about us." Aaliyah replied, secretly laughing at Yaten's expression. His eyes narrowed.

"That was not-" He began, but he didn't have time to finish his sentence because Aaliyah smashed her lips against his in a bruising kiss. Was it a shame losing her first kiss with a guy in a lie? Not really. She was having too much fun with this, and she wasn't going to let Yaten ruin it for her. She hadn't had this much fun in months! As she separated herself from Yaten, she smiled apologetically to Mr. and Mrs. Nakashima.

"I'm so sorry about that. But I'm sure you two understand. How long have you been married?" She asked, leaning onto Yaten, who was still flabbergasted from her kiss. The two redheads exchanged a glance before bursting into laughter.

"Oh no, you must be mistaken…he's my _brother_." The girl said between her laughter, and Aaliyah's eyes widened. Well _that _little fact had taken some of the fun out of her prank.

"Brother? Okay, I'm done." Aaliyah said, shifting away from Yaten. The redheaded boy arched a brow.

"Is there a…problem?" He asked, hands in his pockets. Aaliyah smiled sadly.

"Thought it would be nice to pretend to be with Yaten with our married potential co-managers. But since you guys aren't married…well, what's the point? Besides, Yaten's a terrible kisser, and even though I've only ever kissed one other person, and only once, I know when a kiss sucks." Aaliyah explained. The red eyed girl giggled at Aaliyah's answer before extending her hand to the girl.

"I'm Kristen Nakashima." She introduced, shaking Aaliyah's hand, then Yaten's, Seiya's and Taiki's.

"And I'm Malcolm Nakashima." Malcolm said, shaking their hands. They both smiled widely.

"So, how long have you both been involved in music?" Taiki asked, leaning back. Malcolm and Kristen sat down.

"Well, I've been playing flute and piano since I was about six. I was offered multiple college scholarships for it. I've done a few community concerts, and I went to one of the best music colleges in North America." Kristen explained. Taiki nodded, making notes of what the conversation on a small yellow notepad in his hand.

"I play guitar and am an expert of all things recording wise. I also went to the best music college in North America. I have gotten about eight scholarships my career with music." Malcolm added. Taiki nodded as he continued writing furiously.

"So, do you have any experience?" Seiya asked, intertwining his hands and laying them across his stomach. Kristen nodded.

"We were asked to manage many famous music groups, but were always beaten out by older, more experienced people. We love, well, _I _love your music from the past, and I know exactly what kinds of things you guys would need." Malcolm smiled at Kristen as he put a hand on her knee to keep her from babbling. She blushed and quietly apologized while Malcolm turn to the Three Lights and Aaliyah again.

"We were hoping that managing a talented group like you three would be a good career move. You're young, and we're not much older than you." Malcolm added, and that caught Aaliyah's attention.

"How old are you two exactly?" She asked, leaning forward and crossing her arms over her knees.

"I'm twenty two." Malcolm answered.

"I'm twenty." Kristen added, and Aaliyah nodded, glancing to Taiki as he took more notes.

The interview went on for about thirty minutes, the Nakashima's answering all of their questions. When the interview was over, the brother and sister duo headed out into a hall while the Thee Lights and Aaliyah deliberated.

"I like them." Aaliyah said. Taiki turned to her.

"There's nothing off about them? No darkness or any connections to the Shadows or any other things we should be aware about?" The tall man asked. Aaliyah shook her head happily.

"Can't sense any darkness like that from them. I like them, they seem good to me." She replied, and Taiki nodded.

"They did answer everything, and despite their lack of experience as managers, they do seem to have a strong talent and life long passion for music." He said. Seiya nodded.

"They seem okay. If you and Aaliyah say they're good, then I guess they're good." He said, and the three turned to Yaten, who shrugged nonchalantly.

"I guess they're okay." He said gruffly, and Aaliyah smiled.

"Good, so we can pencil them down. We just have to meet with the other five tomorrow, five more the day after tomorrow, and then five more the day after that, and we are good!" She exclaimed. Yaten did a double take.

"We've got fifteen more of these people to go through?" He asked, and Aaliyah nodded, her smile growing.

"_If _we don't have any last minute sign ups." Aaliyah pointed out, sticking up her index finger. Yaten groaned again and sunk back into the sofa. Aaliyah laughed as Taiki shook his head and Seiya rolled his eyes and continued discussing the Nakashima's with Taiki.

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"Those Thalia Senshi are nothing but trouble for us." Raye complained, Lita narrowed her eyes at her. They were still in the Tsukino home, discussing the aftermath of the Thalia Senshi's visit.

"That's all you have to say? They've been helping us for the last few days and you're ready to turn on them so quickly?" Lita demanded, and Raye turned to her with an icy cold glare.

"We got the information about the Shadows from them, and that's all we need. As of now, they aren't our concern." Amara replied, speaking before the short tempered black haired Senshi could get a word in edgewise.

"They're our friends, we can't just abandon them now!" Amy objected, and Michelle turned to her with a firm gaze, but behind that was a twinge of sympathy.

"They are outsiders, and a threat to our future." She replied, and Amy narrowed her eyes but remained silent, clenching her skirt in her fists.

Serena stared blankly out the window. She liked Leilani and Noelle, they were good people despite how reserved they were. She knew they kept their secrets, but everyone did. And even she and her Senshi knew more about the Thalians then they themselves did. And Serena couldn't help the feeling of guilt that flooded her heart.

Leilani and her Senshi had no idea what happened to them. One day, they'd been told the Moon Kingdom was being attacked by the Negaverse, and the next day, they were told it was over, and life as they knew it had ultimately changed. And they were given no proper explanation, just that it had all happened overnight. Of course they wouldn't question their Queen, Queen of the Heavens and Universe. That was treason, mutiny, and could have been punished by exile or death. That same Queen has just near raised them, given them one of the highest honors on their planet. And almost everything they knew was a lie.

It had to be difficult. For one, Leilani was younger than her, if only by a year, and she had already inherited the throne of the Heavens and Universe, even if it was sadly by default because her mother had died protecting her home planet. And after all that, she'd lost her younger brother, the one person she'd been the closest to. And she'd lost some of her Senshi.

Serena shivered at the idea of losing _any _of her Senshi. They were all so close, best friends, like family, sisters. Losing them would send her into a spiraling depression, and she felt overwhelmed with sympathy for Leilani. The poor girl had lost so much. Her mother, her Senshi, her kingdom, her planet. Everything she'd ever known was overtaken and destroyed by darkness. And she'd been unable to do anything about it.

"They are _not _our enemies. They could be powerful allies." Amy pointed out, and Amara shook her head.

"We don't need them. This isn't their Solar System, so its not their problem. The sooner they leave, the sooner we can handle these Shadows." The tall blonde replied. Lita narrowed her eyes.

"In case you haven't noticed, they are the _only _ones who can defeat these Shadow Demons. Without them, we could _all die_." The brunette snapped, crossing her arms. Michelle shook her head.

"We'll find a way to defeat them." She said evenly, and Amy shifted beside Lita.

"Our powers are useless against the Shadow Demons, only Leilani and her Senshi can affect them, and only Sailor Celestia can destroy them." The blue haired girl countered. Serena wasn't really listening to the discussion, and instead was thinking of what it was like to be in Leilani's position, to have her responsibilities, her views, her trials and tribulations…

_Ring!_

The sudden ring of the phone startled Serena out of her thoughts, and she quickly ran to pick up the phone before her brother, who was upstairs, or her mother, in the kitchen, would. The blonde picked up the phone and pressed the receiver to her ear.

"Hello, Tsukino residence, Serena speaking." She recited, distractedly twirling the phone cord around her index finger.

"_Hello, Serena."_ A voice said on the other end, and Serena clenched her hand in a fist, the cord still wrapped around her finger.

"L-Leilani? Hi…" Serena began, unsure of what to say. She was actually glad to be able to talk to the Thalia humanoid, since she'd been spending much of her recent time thinking of her and her life. But she didn't want to seem too upfront with anything she said because Leilani was easily offended, and her marrying Darien didn't seem to help their situation at all. But if she had to just sit back and listen to be able to every word she said, she'd do it. They needed Leilani, even if Amara, Michelle and Raye wouldn't admit it.

"_Mina, Hotaru, and Trista are here. Mina insists that you come to our place this weekend…we were planning to…hang out. All weekend at our place. Of course all of my Senshi…who are here…will be there. And…Trista says to invite the other Inners, even though she won't be able to make it. She says she'll make good use of her time and try and convince Amara and Michelle to trust us." _Serena almost wanted to laugh at how Leilani scoffed at the end of her sentence, but the situation was far too serious. This one weekend could decide whether or not her Senshi and Leilani's could become friends. That alliance could help decide the fate of the world.

"That sounds great. I'll ask the others, if you could please hold." Serena untangled her fingers from the knot of cords she'd had.

"_Of course._" Came Leilani's reply. Serena hurriedly ran back to the living room.

"Hey guys, Leilani invited us to their place this weekend. Wanna go?" Serena asked, standing in the doorway of the room. Amara narrowed her eyes.

"I'd love to go." Amy threw in before the blonde haired Senshi could.

"Are all of us invited?" Lita asked, leaning forward.

"Leilani invited us Inners and Hotaru. Trista wants to talk to you, Amara and Michelle, during that time." Serena explained, and Lita nodded.

"Then count me in." She said, and Serena nodded. All eyes turned expectedly to Raye.

"We shouldn't be hanging out with the enemy, Serena." Raye advised.

"They are _not _the enemy, Raye. Come on, at least give them a chance." Serena begged, giving Raye, _The Look._

_The Look_ was Serena's greatest weapon. _The Look_ got Amara to give her a driving lesson. _The Look _made Michelle agree to help teach her how to play the violin, which she was still not good at. _The Look_ got Raye to give her manga _without _a fight. _The Look _made Lita make Serena lunch for a week. _The Look _made Amy tutor Serena deep into the night, even if she still didn't completely understand it. If she wanted to, Serena could probably use _The Look_ to get Hotaru to destroy the world. And there was no way Raye could refuse _The Look _now.

"Fine, Serena, I'll go!" Raye caved, and Serena smiled before running back to the phone line.

"_Welcome back."_ Leilani said as Serena put the phone to her ear. The girl gasped.

"How'd you know I was back?" She asked.

"_Not important. Are you all able to come over?"_ Serena blinked at the change of topic but decided not to say anything about it. Leilani, and her Senshi, all had this Fight-or-Flight instinct, and she didn't need them to choose either.

"We are. We'll all ask our parents and have a final, final answer for you tomorrow." Serena promised. She heard Leilani hum as she thought to herself.

"_Good. I'll see you all tomorrow at school. Good-bye."_ Serena opened her mouth but shut it with a _snap _when she heard a dial tone.

"Bye…" She whispered to the dead air. Slowly, she lowered the phone onto its receiver and went back to the living room.

"So…it's a go?" Lita asked, and Serena nodded, forcing a smile.

"It's a go." She confirmed. Lita pumped her fist into the air while Amy smiled. Serena turned to Raye and watched the girl who had a look of utter boredom on her face. But for a second, more like a millisecond, an emotion crossed the girl's face and only Serena seemed to catch it. Was that excitement she saw? Her lips tugged up into a smile, a genuine smile.

A knock sounded at the door and Serena went to it and slowly pulled it open. She smiled at the person in the doorway.

"Hey Darien, come on in." She said, smiling at her fiancé and standing aside, sweeping her arm into the hall in a gesture for him to enter. Darien nodded, a smile on his face and entered.

"Not too late for the meeting, am I?" He asked, and Serena shook her head, a negative hum escaping her lips.

"No, but you missed-" She began.

"The new Senshi who left with Hotaru, Mina, and Trista." He finished with a sigh. Serena arched an eyebrow at him as they entered the living and he sat down beside the seat she had not too long ago been occupying.

"How do you know?" She asked, sitting down beside him.

"Because I ran into them on my way here." He answered, sighing again and leaning back. He pinched the bridge of his nose, and all eyes turned to him expectedly.

"What happened?" Raye asked, leaning towards the future King of Crystal Tokyo.

"I ran into them on my way here. At first, they didn't do anything, but a few minutes later, the new Senshi, Leilani and Noelle, came back and told me to stay away from them and not hurt you, Serena." Darien replied, and Serena smiled gently at him, wrapping her smaller hand around his.

"I know you'd never hurt me, Darien…" She murmured. She smiled up at him and he looked back at her, his lips twitching up into a smile.

"Did they threaten anything else?" Amara asked, and Darien cleared his throat and turned to her.

"Just that if I did hurt Serena, they'd painfully kill me." He shrugged. Amara arched a brow. He was acting so calm, so cool…as if he_ knew _the Thalian humanoids and he was confident that their threats were empty.

"Do you think they'd actually do it?" Lita asked, and Darien shrugged.

"I don't think they will, I think they're just trying to protect Serena." Amy replied quietly, and suddenly, the quiet young blue haired girl had the attention of everyone in the room.

"Why do you think that, Amy?" Luna asked, entering the room, Artemis and Diana at her heels. Diana leaped into Rini's lap, and the pink haired girl slowly petted her kit, being gentle to avoid the marks left behind by Endymion's knife.

"Yeah, they don't really know me, why would they do something like this to try and protect me?" Serena added, and Amy shook her head.

"I don't think it has anything to do with obligations, Serena. I think Leilani actually cares about you, about us, as fellow Senshi. I believe she wants to be our friend, to get to know us. They don't want to be our enemies." She replied.

"I think Amy's right." Rini said quietly. As much as she hated to admit it, she did agree with Amy. She hated that Leilani and Noelle didn't want Serena to marry Darien, which would result in her not being born, but she honestly didn't believe that they wanted to be their enemies. They couldn't have been that bad if Hotaru liked hanging out with them so much. She almost seemed to praise the ground they walked on, and soon, she'd become one of them. The thought sent a shiver down the pink haired girl's spine.

"Actually, I also agree with Amy. From what I've seen, I don't think these Thalia Senshi mean us any harm." Artemis admitted. Serena nodded.

"So its settled. Luna, wanna come with us to Leilani's this weekend?" Serena asked, looking down at the black cat who cat curled up on her lap. Luna looked back up at her.

"You're going to her house?" The cat asked. Serena nodded and the cat shrugged, mumbling something as she tucked her nose below her paw. Serena knew that was Luna speak for 'I'll be there, just to keep you out of trouble.'

"Who's going?" Rini asked, and Serena turned to her with a small smile on her face.

"Myself, Lita, Raye, Amy, Mina, Luna, Naomi, Aaliyah, Chelsea, Noelle, Leilani, of course, and Hotaru. And if you want, I can ask Leilani if its alright if you come to." Serena suggested. Rini nodded shyly, a light pink blush on her cheeks. Serena nodded back, her smile growing.

"I don't know if that's such a good idea…" Darien began, and Serena turned to him, a frown on her face.

"Why not?" She asked, furrowing her brow. Darien turned towards her.

"They seem to be enemies of ours, or at least opposing some of us, and the future we are destined to have." Darien explained, and Serena's frown deepened.

"But they don't _know _about our destinies, Darien. If they knew, I'm sure they'd understand." Serena replied, and Darien shook his head.

"Sorry, Serena, but I don't think so." He replied, and Serena fell silent. The whole room was silent, and Serena turned from Darien and stared straight ahead, past Amara and Michelle.

"So, Darien, how have you been?" Rini asked quietly. She feared her future father, because she knew all of the terrible things he would do to her, Serena, to all of them. But she didn't want to seem rude. She once seemed to love Darien far more than Serena, but now, she feared him. But her fear was also fueled by darker emotions: anger, hatred, antipathy, resentment. But she couldn't let it show. Not until Trista explained her true mission. Not yet.

"I've been fine, Rini. How's Crystal Tokyo? What made you come back?" Darien asked, and Rini felt her blood run cold. She'd had yet to come up with a story to tell him.

"Uh…everything's fine. My mother wanted me to come back…just to, you know, visit." She replied, shrugging and turning away from him. She couldn't meet his eyes.

"Well, your visit can't be but so long, Rini. Remember, you could be developing in as little as four months." Raye asked, smiling wickedly, arching her eyebrows. Rini felt heat go to her cheeks as she processed the information.

Four months. Four months until Serena and Darien would be married, and who knew how much longer after that they'd have until the once-called utopia of Crystal Tokyo was formed. And then Darien, Endymion's, madness would begin, and Crystal Tokyo would become a dystopia, filled with blood, hatred, death, rape, and every sin ever imaginable. And it could all begin with that wedding kiss.

Serena heard Rini and Darien talking, and then heard Raye mention her wedding. Her wedding. It was starting to seem foreign to even think those words. Two words. Four months. One day. In that one day, the future of the entire world, the entire _galaxy_, would be determined. And she still had months to prepare, but Serena was already feeling the pressure, as if the whole world was watching her and depending on her. But then again, the whole world was. Lost in her thoughts, Serena's eyes stayed focused on the air behind Amara and Michelle.

But then something strange happened.

From the air, a golden air appeared. The air molded together, quivering, and began to take the shape of a woman. Her black hair framed her face and fell around her, cascading to the floor in beautiful waves and trailing behind her. Her eyes were a gentle coffee brown, her iris surrounded by a golden light, a similar light that surrounded her pupil. Her skin was smooth, a light shade of olive brown. Her curvy figure was accented by a skin hugging white gown adorned with small pearls and golden lace. Her lips were voluptuous and a wine colored red. Her beauty was accented by a golden aura coming from her body, and her feet did not touch the ground. Serena's hand clamped over her mouth as she stared at the woman with disbelief, and no one else seemed to notice her presence. She looked right at Serena, a small smile on her lips. Amara looked at Serena's wide eyes and followed her gaze, where she saw the woman as well.

"Who are you?" She demanded, jumping to her feet. For the first time, everyone seemed to notice the floating woman and turned to her, but no one seemed more shocked then Luna and Artemis. The two cats jumped down and knelt to the woman, their noses touching the floor as they bowed to the mysterious figure.

"Queen Sahara…" They murmured simultaneously, and all of the Senshi's eyes opened wide.

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**Layla: And so this is chapter five!**

**Aqua: Hoped you all loved it, because it was seriously a lot of fun to write!**

**Emma: Hope you all liked this chapter, because it was 10,752 words long!**

**Kelsey: Which is our second longest chappie ever!**

**Jazz: Lots of love to all of you who have reviewed, and those of you who haven't, well, **_**PLEASE REVIEW!**_** Until next time, you all keep searching for ways to help bring our Moon Princess back to North America, and we'll keep you as posted as we can! R&R!**


	7. Secrets in Nightmares

**Sailor Moon: The Shadows Arc**

**Chapter 6: Secrets in Nightmares**

**Disclaimer: Who, me? Own Sailor Moon? Don't make me laugh, I support our Moon Princess just as much as you do, but I don't own her. Also don't own any other famous properties mentioned in this chapter.**

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**Jazz: We couldn't think of what to say. Sorry for all the long waits, but we just couldn't update. Not sure why, we just couldn't. Well, hope you like this chapter, hope it clears up any confusion, and…we just hope its good! Please Review!**

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"Queen Sahara?" Michelle asked first, looking between the bowing cats and the floating mysterious woman.

Diana leaped from Rini's lap and stood between her mother and father before also bowing before her. She did not bend down far enough for the tip of her nose to touch the floor for fear she would reopen her wounds. After the day of Serenity's return, Endymion had made it a habit of his to stroke her pelt with a knife. He'd found watching the mattered gray fur get stained with her flowing red blood entertaining. The Sol Senshi exchanged confused glances, but Queen Sahara only had her eyes fixed for Serena.

"_Past Moon Princess…_" She whispered, holding out a hand to Serena. Serena's eyes became transfixed, her pupil's began to glow a golden yellow, expanding so her cerulean blue iris' disappeared, followed by the sclera. A golden light glowed around her skin, a beautiful aura similar to that of Sahara's. Everyone took a large gasp of air, Amara and Darien leaping to their feet.

"What're you doing to her?" Darien demanded, taking a large step forward. Luna, Artemis and Diana reared on him, their pelts bristling. Artemis bared his fangs. All of their iris' now glowed a golden color, their pupils dilated, their sclera a blood red.

"How dare you!" Luna chastised, digging her claws into the floor. Her tail thrashed behind her. Rini jumped up to the cat's defense.

"Luna, Darien, stop it!" She shouted, trying to reach peace between the silently feuding humans and animals. The hair on the back of the cat's backs slowly fell down, their tails dragging lazily behind them. They each nodded and sat. Luna curled her tail over her paws, while Diana couldn't help continuously glancing over her shoulder at the floating deceased Queen.

"What do you want?" Amara asked, her voice cold and yet very calm. Queen Sahara paid her no attention, her eyes still transfixed on Serena, who slowly rose to her feet and walked around Darien.

"Serena!" He said, grabbing her arm, but he snatched in back in a quick grunt of pain. When his hand had come in contact with her skin, a powerful electrical shock went through his body. It was as if Serena's skin itself was on fire.

She walked towards Sahara, and Amara tried to stand in her path, but something even stranger happened. Serena walked right through Amara, and the tall blonde woman fell to her knees. It had been a strange sensation, having someone walk right through you. Michelle helped her to her feet and the two turned to Serena, who brought up her right hand and placed it in Sahara's outstretched hand. When skin met skin, a powerful golden light was formed, that quickly engulfed both Sahara and Serena.

"Serena!" Luna called out, awakening from her trance, but her voice fell on death ears, as Serena was pulled under and into the light.

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Serena looked around. She wasn't sure where she was, but she did know it was wonderful. She was sitting on lush, green grass free of weeds and bugs. All around her were flowers of all kinds, water lilies, tiger lilies, roses of every color of the rainbow, unidentifiable species, and beautiful cherry blossom trees with petals that danced in the gentle breeze of the wind. She stood slowly, taking in the beauty of this peaceful place. A flute was playing in the distance, a light, harmonic, melody.

"Breathtaking, isn't it?" A voice said. Serena turned around and saw Queen Sahara. She looked just as she had in her living room, except her golden aura wasn't glowing around her, but she still wore the same gown and was still floating above the ground.

"Yes, it is." Serena replied softly. Sahara's eyes grew distant, looking not at Serena, but _through _her, at something that wasn't there, something repressed deep inside her own memories. She blinked before looking at Serena again, a smile on her delicate lips.

"Do you know where you are?" Sahara asked. Serena awkwardly used her right hand to grab her left wrist.

"Actually…no." Serena admitted, avoiding Sahara's gaze. The woman lightly chuckled.

"Serena, welcome to Thalia as it once was." Sahara said, standing aside and gesturing behind her. Serena's eyes widened.

Behind the fallen Queen was a large, extravagant golden palace. It was made of small golden crystals. Each crystal perfectly reflected the sun's rays, creating an illusion of the palace having a golden aura surrounding it. It stretched across the horizon, expanding just about as far as the eye could see. Each crystal was pure and golden, and the light they reflected warmed Serena's skin. She looked at Queen Sahara.

"This is…was Thalia?" She asked, her voice a whisper. Sahara nodded.

"Yes, it was. Not so long ago." The Queen of the Heavens and Universe replied. Serena nodded and turned back to Sahara.

"So…what has happened to Thalia now?" Serena asked. A dark look passed Sahara's face and she bit her lower lip. She looked up at the young princess.

"Close your eyes." She ordered gently. Serena nodded and closed her eyes. She felt the wind blow wildly and she squinted her eyes shut even tighter. The melody of the flute disappeared, as did the warmth she felt from the golden crystal palace. It was replaced by a bitter cold. When the wind died down, Serena slowly opened her eyes and gasped.

Where the luscious green grass once stood was rough, dirt terrain. There was no sign of the many beautiful flowers that were once there. The once gentle breeze that danced with cherry blossom petals was now bitter cold. The soft song of the flute was gone, and the air was filled with so much darkness it was suffocating. But the worst was the golden palace.

Every small golden crystal had been tainted pure black. The sun was hidden by miles upon miles of Shadows with peering red eyes. The palace now seemed dark and menacing, and just looking at it sent a shiver down her spine. There was no trace of the once beautiful, comforting golden light. Just darkness. Serena could feel the evil and despair radiating from the kingdom in waves, and its force knocked her to her knees. Her head swam, and she suddenly felt nauseous.

"I apologize, Princess Serena." Sahara said softly and she swept her arm out again. Serena curled into herself to shield her face from the strong gust of wind that followed. When the wind died down to a gentle, teasing breeze, Serena looked up again. And they were back in the beautiful gardens of the Thalia of the past, before the invasion of the Shadows. She shivered, suddenly feeling darkness in the air. She stood to face the deceased Queen, and awkwardly cleared her throat.

"Queen Sahara…why did you bring me here?" She asked, holding her right hand to her chest and pinching at the material between her thumb, middle, and index finger. Sahara lifted her chin and looked at the young blonde with a firm gaze.

"Because I know of my daughter and her Senshi making plans with you and yours. And I come with advice: Listen to my daughter. Leilani is going through a tough time, she's weakened by grief, and she had yet to mourn for all she's lost. She's weak, and she needs support. Not just from her old friends, but from new ones too. Please, be patient with her Princess Serena." Sahara replied, and Serena's eyes widened before she lowered her hands to her sides, fists clenched tightly. She nodded to the spirit of the Queen.

"I promise I will, Queen Sahara." Serena vowed, her mouth in a firm line. Sahara nodded and narrowed her eyes and advanced on Serena until she floated no more then two feet away. She held out her right and touched the tip of her index finger to Serena's head.

"Princess Young olim Regni Lunae do vobis, opes! Sahara regina, Mundi regens, princeps regni divini electus signifer Crystal divina, concedo vobis nisi adiuuare populum nostrum Help filia regere digneris pugnam lateri in lucem spes nostra Divinum Luminous Divinatione*!" Sahara shouted out. Before Serena had time to even process the language Sahara was speaking, she was surrounded in a golden light. All she'd been able to tell was that Sahara voice had seemed melodious, as if she wasn't speaking how she should've been. More like singing. It was gentle, yet commanding, and sounded very much so like angelic music.

Then, Serena was back in her living room. On the chair, her friends gathered around her.

"Serena!" Luna cried.

"Hey…" Serena replied, looking up through glazed eyes at her friends, but noticed they weren't exactly looking at her, but at the moon symbol on her forehead.

"Serena…what happened in there?" Raye asked, and Serena looked deep into her friends eyes. She could see her reflection, and saw the crescent moon glow a bright golden yellow, and above that moon symbol was a small sun with fifteen rays around it. The same as the Celestial Jewel around Leilani's neck. Slowly, Serena saw the glowing symbols fade and she slowly sat up with some help from Darien.

"It was…Sahara, she showed me Thalia…before the Shadows…oh you all would've loved it! It was beautiful, with flowers and cherry blossoms…and the cherry blossom trees! And the beautiful flute and the gentle breeze…and the palace! Oh, the Divine Palace was beautiful! It was made of small golden crystal and they made you feel like the Sun was right there…" Serena babbled on.

"But are you okay, Kitten? What happened in there? What was with that sun on your head?" Amara asked, putting a hand on Serena's shoulder. The young blonde looked up at her friend.

"Queen Sahara…she made me promise to try and be friends with Leilani. She begged me to." Serena replied.

"Why?" Serena looked over her shoulder at Darien, slightly pained that he didn't sound happy about her agreement. If nothing else, his voice was filled with anger and hatred.

"Because…well, its really important to save the Universe, and we might learn a lot this weekend." Serena answered, shrugging. She wasn't comfortable telling Darien about _everything_ she and Sahara had spoken off. Especially the parts about Leilani and the end with her words. That was when it hit her. Sahara had been speaking Latin. She remembered hearing Amy talk about it and the girl tried to teach them all a few words of the language. Serena looked around for Trista to ask if that was the native language of Thalia, only to remember that the woman had already left.

"So, its definitely a go, then?" Lita asked, looking at Serena, then the other Senshi.

"Definitely a go." Serena confirmed, nodding. Lita smiled, and Amy's eyes were filled with relief. Raye did her best to look indifferent, but Serena saw excitement reflecting in her eye's like you might see in the eyes of a child on Christmas morning. The two remaining Outer Senshi said nothing, their faces impassive. But Serena smiled. In less than a week, all of their questions would be answered.

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**Friday-After School**

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"Ready, all?" Leilani asked, leaning inside the gates, hair dancing in the wind. Noelle stood beside her quietly, but smiling softly at the approaching Senshi and Starlights.

"All ready to go!" Mina replied, smiling widely. Leilani pushed herself off the wall and kept on walking.

"So, we're going to go pick up Hotaru now right, and meet Raye and Rini, Luna and Diana at the park?" Aaliyah asked, looking at Leilani. Ever since that day with Queen Sahara, Serena had done her best to stay on the girl's good side, which she was succeeding with quite well. But she had yet to tell Leilani about the meeting with her deceased mother. What she didn't know wouldn't hurt her.

"That's the plan." Noelle answered, and Leilani nodded.

"So…we told our parents were staying at your place for the weekend. That _is _what we're doing, right?" Lita asked, and Leilani smiled and turned to her.

"Exactly. And we got all of your stuff yesterday. Your clothes, sleeping bags, toiletries, etcetera. Hotaru has hers with her. All of your stuff has been unpacked and placed in the proper holding area." Chelsea said, and Lita nodded.

"So…where are we gonna sleep? There are only three bedrooms in your place." Serena asked, walking at Leilani's right side while Noelle walked at the girl's left.

"Sleeping bags. Our living room is definitely big enough for all of us. And we'll _still_ have some spare space. If worst comes to worse, we'll kick out the Kou's." Naomi replied, winking. Noelle and Aaliyah giggled.

"Over my dead body." Yaten snapped, and Aaliyah laughed even harder.

The girls all continued chatting as they walked to Azabu Jūban, where Hotaru and Sammy were now in school and preparing to be dismissed. As they turned the corner, they saw the sight of a silently weeping Hotaru crouched down on the ground. In front of her were four girls and three boys, laughing at her.

"Aw, look at the little freak!" One of the girls taunted. She had long blonde hair and bright blue eyes. Her friends laughed as she kicked Hotaru.

"Shut up, little bitch!" One of the boys said, hitting Hotaru in the cheek. Leilani felt rage prick at her body, and Noelle tried to stop Lita, Mina and Serena from charging onto the scene. Luna crouched down while Diana's lower lip trembled slightly.

"No, Hotaru needs help from _real_ heroes." Noelle whispered. Everyone looked at her strangely until she pulled out her blue crystal that had a symbol of a darkened moon and a darkened sun. Serena nodded in understanding and Noelle dragged Leilani after them as they went hiding behind a large wall.

"Girls, wait!" Luna called, running after them, Diana at her heels.

"_Eclipse Angelic Power!"_

"_Titania Angelic Power!"_

"_Comet Angelic Power!"_

"_Pandora Angelic Power!"_

"_Fighter Star Power!"_

"_Healer Star Power!"_

"_Maker Star Power!"_

"_Moon Eternal Power!"_

"_Mercury Crystal Power!"_

"_Jupiter Crystal Power!"_

"_Venus Crystal Power!"_

"_Celestial Divine Power!"_

"Shut up, freak!" The other boy shouted, kicking Hotaru roughly in the side. The girl bit her lower lip to keep from crying out in pain. The other kids laughed at her while Hotaru refused to look up and meet their eyes.

"Stop it right there!" A voice called. All of the kids looked in the direction of the sound and gasped. Hotaru looked up at them and smiled. There were Sailor Celestia and Eternal Sailor Moon standing back to back. Sailor Eclipse, Sailor Pandora, Sailor Titania and Sailor Venus stood on the side of Sailor Celestia while Sailor Mercury, Sailor Star Fighter, Sailor Star Healer, Sailor Star Maker and Sailor Jupiter stood on the side of Sailor Moon.

"How dare you bully an innocent young girl!" Sailor Moon reprimanded.

"This young girl has a pure heart and a pure soul, and anyone who dares to try and taint that will be punished!" Celestia continued.

"In the name of the Moon…

"The Heavens…"

"The Hidden Sun and Moon…"

"The Cosmos…"

"The planet Venus…"

"The planet Mercury…"

"And the planet Jupiter…"

"We will punish you!" They all finished. The children looked back at them with wild eyes.

"T-the Sailor Senshi…" The blonde girl whispered.

"Wow…dude, their hotter in person!" One boy said incredulously to his friend, who silently nodded. Celestia stepped towards them, Eternal Sailor Moon at her heels. Celestia helped Hotaru to her feet and hugged the girl to her while Hotaru put her arm around the older girl.

"This girl is our friend, like a sister to us. Do not harm her again." Celestia ordered.

"She's right. You are no better than Hotaru, and she is no better than you." Sailor Moon said, putting her hand on Hotaru's left shoulder.

"But she's a freak!" The blonde haired girl objected.

"Just because she's different, she's a freak?" Eclipse asked, crossing her arms.

"And even if she is different, what right does that give you to treat her the way you have?" Mercury asked.

"Don't make us come back here, or we _will _mess you up." Venus promised. And with that, the Senshi turned from the scene and left, Hotaru in tow. Hotaru glanced back at the bullies, a smug smile on her lips, before looking back up at Celestia and Sailor Moon and smiling at them.

"What was that all about, Hotaru?" Celestia asked as they went back behind the wall again and retransformed. From then, they continued on to the park at a slower pace.

"Nothing." The young girl replied, shrugging and turning away from them. Leilani furrowed her brow.

"Has this happened to you before, Hotaru?" Noelle tried. Hotaru still didn't answer.

"Does _Trista_ know about this?" Mina inquired. Hotaru stared at the sidewalk with interest, still refusing to answer them or meet their gazes. The girls stopped walking and Lita put a hand on Hotaru's shoulder to keep her from taking off. She whipped Hotaru around to face them and the girls knelt before her.

"Hotaru, talk to us. How long have those kids been bullying you?" Noelle asked, holding the girl's chin to force her to look into her eyes. Hotaru's purple eyes glistened with unshed tears.

"A few weeks…" She replied quietly, and Noelle's eyes hardened while Leilani clenched her fists.

"Why did you not tell anyone?" Leilani asked, and Hotaru looked away from her. Guilt tugged at the strings of Leilani's heart.

"I'm sorry." Hotaru said, tears running anew down her cheeks. Leilani knelt before her and wrapped her arms around the girl's shoulders.

"No, _I'm _sorry, Hotaru. If you want to talk about it, just remember, you can tell me, Aaliyah, _any _of the Senshi anything." Leilani murmured, and Hotaru nodded. The girls walked on casually, bringing up brighter subjects until they reached the park. Aaliyah decided not to say anything, it would be better to confront Hotaru at the apartment when less people were around.

"Hotaru, what happened to you?" Rini asked, running up to Hotaru. Hotaru mentally slapped her forehead for not healing herself before she got here. Of course Rini was going to ask questions.

"Hotaru had an accident on our way here. Aaliyah can help her when we get home." Noelle said. Rini narrowed her eyes but nodded. Something about Noelle's story was a little less than truthful, but she decided it would be better to not ask about it.

"Well, lets go then." Mina insisted, giving a small, nervous chuckle. Everyone agreed and they began on their way again, Leilani and Noelle leading the way, Rini and Hotaru behind them, Serena, Mina, Raye, Amy and Lita trailing towards the back, and at the very end were Seiya, Yaten, and Taiki. When they reached the apartment, everyone immediately went to the living room.

"What should we do first?" Lita asked, sitting cross-legged in front of the couch.

"I think we should start homework and stuff, get that out the way." Amy replied. Everyone else, save Taiki, groaned, sighed, or rolled their eyes.

"I say, we forget homework until the last minute, order some movies and pizza, and chill." Aaliyah suggested.

"Amen!" Chelsea exclaimed, holding her hand in the air. Amy sighed as she saw the number of people who followed Chelsea's example increase. She'd lost by default.

"You guys gonna stay here?" Aaliyah asked, turning to the Three Lights who sat to her left. Seiya shrugged.

"Maybe for a while." He replied. Yaten scoffed and Aaliyah rolled her eyes at him, flicking him in the ear. Yaten grabbed his ear and glared at her, but said nothing at the smug smile on her lips. Aaliyah turned to Hotaru, ready to confront her about earlier. She'd promised herself she'd stay calm on the streets and wouldn't confront Hotaru until they got back to the apartment.

"Hotaru, what are you keeping from me?" She asked. She knelt infront of the young girl and Hotaru looked away from her but Aaliyah forced her to turn back.

"Some kids…they've been beating me up after school…for a few weeks..." Hotaru answered in a weak voice. Aaliyah narrowed her eyes and they began to glow crimson red and deep black. At the fear in Hotaru's eyes, Aaliyah took a deep breath and closed her eyes before opening them again, only to reveal their natural light amethyst color.

"Are you alright?" Aaliyah asked. What she wanted to say was: _When do you want me to rip out their hearts?_ But those were the Shadows in her blood, not her. And she'd never say anything like that to make Hotaru afraid of her.

"I'm fine now." Hotaru answered, a small smile on her lips. Aaliyah smiled back and placed her hand gentle on Hotaru's bruised cheek and let her energy flow into the younger girl, and watched as the bruise slowly faded away.

"You don't have to do that Aaliyah, I can heal myself." Hotaru assured, but Aaliyah shook her head, moving on to the next injury.

"I insist, Hotaru. Don't worry, I'll be done in a second." Aaliyah replied, and Hotaru closed her mouth and nodded.

"So, movie genres?" Leilani asked.

"Romance!" Serena and Raye shouted out in unison.

"I'm thinking mystery?" Noelle asked.

"Horror." Seiya said.

"Thriller!" Chelsea suggested.

"Or a comedy?" Aaliyah tried.

"Any movies with all the genres?" Amy asked. Leilani shrugged.

"Okay, let's vote! You can vote up to three times. Who wants a romance film?" Serena, Raye, Mina, Naomi, Rini and Lita raised their hands. "Mystery?" Noelle and Amy raised their hands. "Horror?" Yaten and Seiya raised their hands. "Thriller?" Chelsea, Naomi, and Noelle raised their hands. "Comedy?" Leilani, Hotaru, Rini, Serena, Aaliyah and Mina raised their hands.

"So, that's a tie for romance and comedy. How do we decide that?" Noelle asked, looking between everyone. Aaliyah smiled.

"Simple solution: Romantic Comedy!" She exclaimed. Everyone, save the Three Lights, agreed.

"I say we watch Valentine's Day." Noelle said. The girls agreed. Aaliyah turned to Yaten and Seiya with pleading eyes.

"Are you guys sweet enough to order us some movies and pizzas?" She asked, sticking out her lower lip for effect.

"Nope." Yaten replied. Aaliyah glared at him before turning her attention to the other two.

"Please? Pretty, pretty please? Please go out and get us some pizza and movies? Please?" She begged. Taiki looked away and Seiya sighed.

"Fine, we'll go." He said at last, standing up. Aaliyah cheered and Yaten sighed. Taiki followed him.

"So, what do you all want?" Taiki asked, leaning beside the door. Leilani smiled.

"Three pizzas, two cheese and one pepperoni. Sodas, any kind, and Valentine's Day. Any other movies you guys can pick, but they can't be over PG-13. We have kids here, you know! Anything else, Chelsea will call you. Right Chels?" Chelsea nodded as Leilani looked towards her. Taiki and Seiya nodded before leaving, and all the girls turned to Yaten.

"Aren't you gonna leave? You know, like now?" Raye asked, and Mina and Aaliyah couldn't help but laugh. Yaten scoffed.

"Oh well then, suit yourself. Okay girls, gather into a circle!" Aaliyah said, sitting down next to Noelle. To Noelle's left sat Leilani, then Serena, then Mina, then Raye, then Amy, then Lita, then Chelsea, then Naomi, Rini, Hotaru, and back to Aaliyah.

"What should we talk about?" Rini asked, and Aaliyah smiled wickedly.

"Well, anything. Like how _sexy _Justin Bieber is, or how much badly I wanna run my hands over Zach Efron's abs, or bras, pads, tampons-"

_SLAM!_

The girls laughed as they heard the door slam behind Yaten. Noelle shook her head at Aaliyah.

"That was wicked." The girl said, and Aaliyah winked.

"Wickedly lovely." She replied, and both burst into fits of giggles.

"Did you mean that stuff?" Mina asked as the laughter bubbling inside of her died down. Aaliyah shook her head.

"Oh, no! But I'd do anything to make that guy leave! Time to change, and talk!" Aaliyah said, jumping up and running into the room they were keeping everyone's stuff in.

"Do you know how long its gonna take for all of us to all shower? There's only one bathroom!" Lita pointed out.

"No…there's two." Naomi replied, winking. She pulled out a key to the Three Lights room, and everyone cheered.

"Let's separate it evenly! Noelle, Leilani, Raye, Mina, Rini and myself will you the bathrooms down here. Naomi, Chelsea, Aaliyah, Amy, Lita and Hotaru can use the one in Seiya's room." Serena said. Everyone nodded and gathered their stuff before dispersing.

**-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-**

"Okay, who goes first?" Hotaru asked, leaning in the doorway of the apartment.

"Me!" Aaliyah announced, running in. Naomi went after her, threatening to pull all of her hair out of her pretty little head. Hotaru laughed.

"Don't break anything!" A voice called, and Hotaru stopped laughed immediately and exchanged a look with Amy and Lita. They followed the sound to a bedroom and found Princess Kakyuu in lounge clothing watching television. The Fireball Princess smiled at them.

"Hello Sailor Saturn, Mercury, Jupiter." She greeted. Amy returned her smile.

"Hello Princess Kakyuu. On this planet, please, feel free to just call us by our normal names, Amy, Lita and Hotaru." Amy said, and Kakyuu nodded.

"Are you all enjoying your slumber party?" The red haired girl asked and Lita smiled.

"Yeah, we're having fun so far. We sent the guys out to get us food and movies." Lita said. Kakyuu smiled and nodded.

"Princess Kakyuu, if I may ask, how come your not joining us?" Hotaru asked, and Kakyuu smiled gently at her.

"Because this is the time for you all to bond with the Thalia Senshi." Kakyuu answered, and Hotaru shook her head.

"Please, join us, Princess Kakyuu. It would be wonderful." Hotaru insisted, moving closer to the Fireball Princess who shook her head.

"Yeah, join us. It'll be fun!" Lita added. Kakyuu bit her lower lip.

"If you insist…" She said quietly.

"Oh, we do." Amy assured. Kakyuu chuckled.

"Alright. I'll wait for you all in the living room." Kakyuu replied, walking past them as they followed. As they left, they saw Aaliyah walk out the bathroom and Naomi shove her way inside.

"Princess Kakyuu, nice to see you!" Aaliyah said, brushing her hair. Hotaru took the brush from her and brushed the girl's flowing long black hair for her.

"Will you be joining us tonight, Kakyuu?" Chelsea asked, sitting on the floor outside the bathroom, signifying she was next. Kakyuu nodded.

"It appears I am." She answered. Chelsea smiled.

"I'm glad. I'd love to learn more about you." The blonde haired girl said.

"And I you." Kakyuu replied. With that, the redhead girl made her way to the living room. A few moments later, Naomi came out of the bathroom and Chelsea immediately ran in. Lita took Chelsea's spot outside the bathroom door.

When everyone was done, they filed next door to find Leilani pining Raye down on the floor. They all exchanged confused glances.

"Hey guys!" Leilani called, looking up at them. At that second, Raye flipped herself over so she pinned Leilani down.

"Ha, told you!" Raye said. Leilani growled.

"That's only because I got distracted!" Leilani insisted and Raye scoffed.

"Excuses! Distractions are for wimps!" The girls replied. Lita sighed and pulled Raye off of Leilani.

"What exactly happened here?" Lita asked.

"Well, Raye bet me that I couldn't beat her in a fight, but Serena insisted we _not _beat each other's brains out, so we're trying to pin each other down and stuff. And I _was _winning until you distractions came in!" Leilani explained, and Lita nodded in understanding. Noelle looked around them.

"Hello Princess Kakyuu!" Noelle greeted, giving a nodding bow to the Fireball Princess, who smiled back at her.

Everyone had changed into more comfortable clothes. Leilani wore a yellow tee shirt and yellow, blue, and black plaid thigh high shorts. Noelle's shirt was white and her shorts were black with small, white Hawaiian flowers. Naomi wore a purple tank top and black sweatpants. Aaliyah had one a red tee shirt and black sweatpants decorated with red stripes across the sides. Kakyuu just wore a peach lounge suit. Chelsea's tee shirt was lime green, her shorts black. Amy's shirt was baby blue, her sweatpants black and blue plaid. The tee shirt Raye wore was red and her shorts were thigh high and black. Mina's shirt was yellow with glitter orange flower designs and her black thigh high shorts had a similar design. Lita had a green shirt on with darker green sweatpants. The shirt Hotaru had on purple with spaghetti straps, her shorts white, black, and purple striped. Rini's were similar, but in place of purple was pink and there were bunny designs etched on to hers, which is why she and Serena looked so much alike at that moment.

"So what should we do until the guys get back with the movies and stuff?" Naomi asked, putting a pillow on the floor and putting her elbows on top of it. The girls rejoined the same circle pattern they'd had earlier, except Kakyuu sat between Naomi and Rini.

"Talk about girl stuff." Aaliyah suggested.

"Okay, truth or dare Aaliyah?" Noelle asked, turning to the girl. Aaliyah pondered for a moment.

"Dare." She decided at last. Noelle smiled.

"The same person you had your first kiss with is in this room. I dare you to kiss that person." Aaliyah smiled back at her taller, by a mere two inches, friend.

"Gladly." She replied, and she stood and walked around Noelle until she was face to face with Leilani. She pressed her lips against Leilani's and kissed her for a moment. Leilani kissed her back with a small smile on her face. They broke the kiss, and the Inner Senshi, Hotaru, and Kakyuu looked at them with confusion.

"Aaliyah…are you and Leilani together?" Rini asked, and Aaliyah looked at her with wide eyes.

"Oh, no! But we _have _kissed before. You see, I went through this experimental phase, not sure whether I was heterosexual or not. Leilani agreed to help me, and I guess you can say we kind of dated for about two weeks before I realized I'm totally straight. No, that's a lie. I'm halfway straight." Aaliyah explained. Lita's eyes widened.

"So, you're…bisexual?" She asked. Aaliyah turned to her and nodded firmly but Naomi pushed her aside.

"Yeah, she is. She and Chelsea have this on again, off again relationship. Speaking of which, are you guys currently on or off?" Naomi, and everyone else save Aaliyah and Chelsea, turned to the two girls. Chelsea shook her head.

"We're off. And the way things are going, we're going to _stay _off." Chelsea assured, glaring at Aaliyah. Aaliyah stuck up her nose and turned away from her. Everyone accepted her response while Aaliyah returned to her seat and Leilani pretended to wipe something disgusting from her lips and tongue.

"My turn. Hm…Rini, truth or dare?" Aaliyah asked, reaching over and trying to snatched the pillow from under Naomi, who clutched it for dear life.

"Um…truth." Rini decided.

"Are you into anyone?" She asked, leaning forward. Leilani, Noelle, Naomi and Chelsea also leaned forward, eager to hear the answer.

"Um…well…" Rini stammered, a blush decorating her cheeks. Mina smiled and jumped in.

"If I may answer for her, Rini _does _have a guy of interest. His name is Helios,and we met him during our battles against the Dead Moon Circus. He walked her dreams, they fell in love, and he was her first kiss." Mina declared, and Rini's blush only deepened as she looked away from everyone as they giggled.

"Okay fine, then. Very funny. Leilani, Truth and Dare?" Rini asked, turning against the girl. Leilani pretended to think for a moment.

"Truth." She decided at last. Rini narrowed her eyes, obviously hoping she'd say dare. Suddenly, the young girl's red eyes widened and she smiled mischievously.

"Who do you like?" Rini asked. It wasn't that bad, but she was hoping it would bring up a bit of embarrassment. Leilani smiled.

"No one." She replied simply. Rini almost fell over.

"But you have to like _someone_, Leilani." Lita insisted, but Leilani shook her head.

"Well, do you at least think someone is cute?" Diana asked from her spot beside Rini. Leilani smiled.

"Yes, I do actually." She replied, Mina jumped.

"Who? Come on Leilani, tell us, who?" She asked, and Leilani burst into fits of giggles.

"Okay, okay…I think Yaten is cute. I mean, really, he's sexy as a guy _and _as a girl." Leilani confessed. All eyes opened wide, save Aaliyah of course.

"I have to agree on that. But he's not your type, is he Leilani?" Aaliyah winked at the girl as slight color flooded her dark cheeks. Leilani stuck up her nose and turned away from Aaliyah, ignoring the girl as she nearly fell to the floor laughing.

"What's your type, Leilani?" Ray asked. Leilani didn't respond but Naomi smiled widely.

"Leilani likes, I guess you'd say, bad boys. Or at least, he has to have a cruel, dark side to him. But sweet to her, and only her." Naomi replied. Everyone looked at Leilani with wide eyes.

"So…you like bad boys?" Mina arched an eyebrow as she leaned closer towards Leilani who whipped her head around to face the girl, giving Serena a face full of hair.

"Not _bad boys_. Just guys who can be known as antagonists to other people, you know, who may do a bit of crime here and there…with this hot, bad boy attitude…but a sensitive, sweet side…a side that only I could know all of…I want a guy whose walls I have to take down…I want to be able to melt the cold block of ice surrounding his heart that he has built because of pain and betrayal he has built up inside. And to be the only one he can trust in the world of mistrust he has from a hard life because he believes that all mankind exists only to make his life more difficult." Leilani sighed, stargazing out of a window. The other girls smiled at her, lost in their own thoughts.

"That sounds…wow…" Rini murmured, staring up at the ceiling. A small smile was on her face, her cheeks flushed a gentle shade of pink. Leilani nodded, but blinked rapidly out of her trance.

"So, what else do you guys wanna do? Keep playing or what?" She asked, leaning back against the seats of the couch.

The girls decided to continue playing and their antics grew even more strange. About twenty minutes later, a knock sounded at the door and Raye shot up and opened it, allowing Seiya, carrying a pizza, Yaten, holding sodas, and Taiki, holding movies, inside.

"Took you all long enough!" Naomi accused.

"Chelsea never called." Taiki replied, shrugging, a mysterious small smirk on his face. The girls exchanged glances. Taiki? Smirking mischievously? Not a good sign.

"Exactly _what _kind of movies did you guys get?" Chelsea asked, an eyebrow arched. The three brothers exchanged a knowing look, but said nothing. Seiya placed the pizza in the center of the circle and everyone dug in.

"Why didn't you guys just order pizza?" Seiya asked, picking up a slice. Noelle shrugged.

"It was more fun sending you guys out. Gave us girls some time to talk and bond." The black haired girl said at last.

"So your not going to kill each other? Too bad." Yaten replied, shrugging as he took a bite from his own slice, shrugging. Lita rolled her eyes.

"Even if we weren't getting along and stuff, we wouldn't kill each other." The girl assured. Raye looked to be pondering in thought and Aaliyah pretended to drive a knife through Mina. Then they all busted into more laughter.

"You know, you Sol Senshi and Starlights aren't nearly as bad as we were lead to believe. Or at least, not you Inner Senshi." Leilani admitted, and Noelle, Aaliyah, Chelsea and Naomi raised their cups of soda in agreement. Serena and Luna exchanged a glance.

"What do you mean not as bad as you were lead to believe?" The small black cat asked. Leilani, Aaliyah, Chelsea and Naomi automatically looked to Noelle, who glanced between all of them and sighed in defeat.

"Back on Thalia, we had lessons about the Solar System Senshi. That is, before Queen Sahara took us out of the classes. But before then, when we learned about the Senshi, we were taught you were all cold to those outside your galaxy, you trusted no one but yourselves and each other, and every outsider was killed without mercy. They told us that none of you had any kindness in your hearts, you were all cold, destructive, and merciless. And that was how we believed you to be. We were led to believe that only the royal family was kind, and are what kept the Senshi from destroying every other living being in the cosmos. But we knew you were powerful and that's why we turned to you for help in the Shadows." Noelle explained. The Inner Senshi, guardian cats, and Starlights looked at her horrified.

"Why would they teach you lies like that?" Amy asked, her voice a hoarse whisper. Naomi shook her head.

"We're not sure. We're not sure about a lot of things Queen Sahara did or told us, but now isn't exactly a fine time to go and ask her, is it? We just know that after we turned three, we no longer learned about the Solar System Senshi." The girl replied, casually flicking her hail over her shoulder.

"Three? When did you start school?" Serena asked, horrification in her voice.

"Well, those of high rank, you know, royal family, royal guardians, whatever, had tutoring in the palace once we were two and a half." Chelsea explained.

"Then when did you all learn how to talk?" Taiki asked, leaning forward.

"Once we are able to form coherent sounds, we are taught to speak. That's why by the time we were two, they were able to teach us the way they did. Thalians are a bit more…advanced than the people of your Solar System. Our brains think and register a little differently." Leilani answered.

"What do you mean by they register different?" Amy asked. Aaliyah shrugged.

"We don't exactly know ourselves. It was another thing they taught us. We were taught we are superior to the Sol Senshi, more powerful, more intelligent, more…special. Our brains develop better, and most of our teachers told us that was because your planets are polluted in some way. Thalia isn't perfect, but we're not polluted." Aaliyah pointed out. Raye narrowed her eyes.

"So you're saying you all are better than us? That you're _perfect_?" The raven haired priestess asked. Noelle looked offended.

"Perfect? Us? _We _admire _you. _I'm no where near perfect. I'm quick to judge. I obsess over things. I am overly self confident. I want to be more like you, Amy. Modest, calm. But I'm not. I'm not perfect."

"I'm not a Princess, I'm a rebel. Tell me to do something, I jump to do the opposite. I _hate _frilly and girly. My Senshi here tell me all the time I'm too modest. I can't do artwork, and I'm afraid to step out and do anything super special. I wish I could be more like you, Mina. Ready to get out there and take chances. But I'm not. Because I'm not perfect." Leilani said, looking at the blonde and blue eyed daughter of Aphrodite.

"I don't stand up for myself. I take things the way they are, because I fear what may happen if I do not. I wish I could have the courage to speak my mind. I want to be like you, Raye. Strong, independent. But I'm not, because I am not perfect." Aaliyah confessed, looking away from the girl.

"I want to be more like Trista, actually. Mature, a role model. Someone who you can turn to in time of crisis and such. I want to be more sophisticated, respectable. But I'm not, because I am not perfect." Chelsea admitted, curling her knees up to her chest and resting her chin on them.

"If nothing else, I want to be more like you, Serena. I want to be more outgoing. I wish I was extroverted like you are, with a generous and understanding heart like yours. You are charitable, despite your child-like personality, and I want to be like that. But I'm not. Why? Because I am not perfect." Naomi said quietly. Raye's eyes widened, her lower lip trembling just a bit.

"I…I didn't mean for you…I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said that." She said quietly, and Leilani gave her a small, reassuring smile before laying her hand on her shoulder.

"No problem, Raye. Its okay." She assured, before slowly leaning forward and wrapping her arms around Raye in a hug. Raye's eyes widened and she hugged her back, and Noelle and Serena smiled, high fiving each other.

"Okay, I don't do good with sad moments. Pop a movie in and lets kick back!" Chelsea suggested, jumping on the couch beside Taiki. He randomly choose one movie from the pile of five, then passed it to Seiya, who passed it to Mina, who passed it to Lita who put it in the TV.

Two hours later, a terrified Noelle peeked from behind the couch. Leilani allowed Rini and Hotaru to look at the screen again. Aaliyah turned to them angrily.

"Of _all _movies in the world, you picked _The Exorcist_?" She demanded angrily, jumping to her feet. Seiya held his hands up innocently, Taiki looked like he was trying not to laugh, and Yaten simply ignored her.

"We told you nothing over PG-13! Hello? One girl here is ten, the other is eleven! You may have just mentally scared them for life! Is that what you want? To be responsible for mentally scarring them for life?" Leilani shouted. Yaten winced at the sound of her voice but rolled his eyes.

"It's not that big a deal." The silver haired boy protested. He and Leilani kept at their debate. Kakyuu was still staring at the blank screen.

"Odango, are you okay?" Seiya asked Serena, whose eyes were transfixed at the screen, wide. But she was completely silent. He waved his hand in front of her eyes, snapped his fingers. Nothing.

"She'll be fine." Rini assured, turning to Hotaru as they talked about what they may have missed since Leilani hardly let them watch half an hours worth of the movie.

Seiya didn't believe her, so he decided to try one last time. He grabbed one of her pigtails and yanked on it. Not enough to really hurt her, but to only get her attention. Which it did. Serena's eyes widened even more and she turned to Seiya, her chin trembling. Without warning, she jumped on Seiya, arms wrapped around his neck as she held onto him. The room fell silent as they all looked at the pair. Noelle and Aaliyah exchanged a glance and smiled.

They watched the other four movies in mildly good spirits. Two more were horror, one was Valentine's Day, the other the cartoon movie MegaMind. After some more game playing, pizza eating fun, the Kou's said their goodbyes and went back to their room. The girls all settled down and prepared for bed. In the center was Serena, Celestia, Noelle, Hotaru, Aaliyah, and Rini. The others were scattered around them. Soon, Serena, Kakyuu, Raye, Mina, Amy, Lita, Diana and Luna were sound asleep. The others simply pretended they were asleep, and the second Serena and Kakyuu were asleep, they were all up and running, conversing and planning.

"So, is it true then, Noelle? Was Seiya the shadow you saw?" Leilani asked quietly, trying desperately not to wake up the sleeping black cat a mere inches from her. Noelle nodded.

"Definitely. I can feel it, Seiya loves Serena. And she feels for him, and all we have to do is make her realize it and fall out of love with…Darien." Noelle replied, her voice filled with such venom at saying Darien's name Leilani could taste poison in her throat.

"But…I won't be born." Rini whispered quietly. Trista had convinced her the Thalia Senshi were trust worthy, so she'd told them the secret of the destruction of the future, now they were discussing how to fix it.

"Rini, sweet heart, you will be born. I can promise you that, but you'll be…different." Aaliyah said, gently running a hand through her hair. Rini shrugged her off.

"Different how? Will I still even be Rini?" The pink haired girl demanded. The circle of girls shushed her and looked around at the sleeping faces.

"You will still be Rini, just not…how do I say this…for one thing, I imagine your appearance may or may not change. For example, your eyes may become blue or your hair black. But you are Serena's daughter, and you get your personality from her. If she were not to be your mother, I'd understand your worry." Aaliyah explained quietly. Rini looked down, turning her back on the girl. Hotaru looked at her friend sadly.

"So, what does that mean? Our mission is to someone make Serena and Seiya fall in love?" Hotaru asked, looking between her young pink haired friend and her guardian angel Senshi. She saw Rini visibly tense at her words.

"We can't exactly force to people to love-" Noelle began.

"That would make everything so much easier." Naomi muttered. Noelle rolled her eyes and Chelsea stifled a giggle with her hand.

"_But _that doesn't mean we're not going to think of ways to…push them together. Serena does feel for Seiya, and it is her heart that has to make the final decision." The girl finished, glaring at her two friends who shrugged innocently.

"Personally, I don't see what's so special about Darien. He's not even that cute. _Seiya_, on the other hand, I wouldn't mind touching his abs. Or Yaten's. Those two are hot! Girl and guy form. Not that Taiki isn't good eye candy." Aaliyah confessed, and everyone giggled softly at that.

"Can't argue with that!" Naomi said, leaning on her friend.

"Now if only we could find some cute guys like that…" Chelsea murmured dreamily. Noelle's eyes widened as she remembered something and she turned to Rini.

"Hey, Rini, didn't Mina say you're in a relationship with Helios?" The pale blue eyed girl asked, gently tugging on one of Rini's pigtails.

Rini lazily swatted her hand away but refused to meet her eyes but muffled a yes.

"So _you're _the small maiden he mentioned." She whispered, and that caught Rini's attention. She turned to Noelle quickly and sat up.

"You know Helios?" She asked, no longer sounding weary. Noelle smiled and nodded.

"I often traveled to Elysion in my dreams. Helios and I are good friends, and after his disappearance, he often mentioned the small maiden who saved him with her beautiful dreams, and from the way he spoke, she also captured his heart. I can see why. Someone with as pure a heart as yours must have very beautiful dreams." Noelle replied. Rini was suddenly grateful for the darkness in the room, because she felt her cheeks grow warm as she blushed.

"You can go to Elysion in your dreams?" Rini asked incredulously, and Noelle nodded, a smile on her lips.

"Soldier of Hidden Secrets, remember? Beautiful dreams are hidden secrets in the heart of all beings, so of course I can communicate with priest of Elysion and the guardian of all the beautiful dreams of the people of Earth." Noelle explained, and Rini nodded, deep in thought.

Noelle exchanged a look with her fellow Thalia Senshi and smirked.

"Rini, when you sleep tonight, would you like me to take you to Helios?" She asked, leaning towards the future Princess of Earth. Rini's blush deepened and she nodded fervently.

"Alight then, young one, after we both sleep, I will take us on a trip to Elysion." Noelle assured, and Rini smiled before laying down, obviously eager to get to sleep. Noelle lightly chuckled.

"Back on the most important subject her people: Serena." Chelsea said, snapping her fingers in front of Noelle's face. Noelle swatted her hand away and nodded.

"Well, what're gonna do about her? We can't just let Earth get destroyed now, can we?" Naomi asked.

"Who would've thought? Us, the most important teenage girls on Thalia, would have fallen in love with this little rural planet of blue." Leilani mused. Noelle, Naomi, Chelsea and Aaliyah nodded solemnly.

"I think we should, if nothing else, go on group dates. Without Darien. Get them closer to each other." Hotaru suggested. Leilani and Noelle looked at her wide eyes, Aaliyah was swelling with pride, Naomi and Chelsea were flabbergasted.

"That's…actually….a really good idea…" Chelsea whispered and Aaliyah nodded, giving Hotaru an awkward sideways hug.

"That's _my _Sol Senshi!" She quietly exclaimed, and Hotaru smiled nervously, her cheeks slightly tinted pink.

"But there isone problem with it. What about us? You know, we don't have dates for a group date." Naomi pointed out. Hotaru frowned at the one flaw in her plan and Aaliyah flicked Naomi in the ear. The girl glowered back at her, but Aaliyah just shrugged in response, a smile playing on her lips.

"Well, then you know what that means, girls? Looks like we're gonna need to do some boy stalking." Aaliyah whispered, winking.

Noelle shook her head and mumbled something about them being hopeless. Naomi rolled her eyes and snuggled into her sleeping bag to get ready for bed, and Noelle followed her example. Hotaru smiled weakly and also snuggled in. Only Chelsea, Aaliyah and Leilani remained awake and talking. After some time though, Chelsea called it a night, followed by Aaliyah. Leilani wanted to stay awake longer but something was forcing her to sleep. A gold mist surrounded her, draining her of her energy. Her eyes rolled upwards and she fell into her pillow with a soft thud. Then she began to feel something else strange in the air around her. Two warm arms wrapped around her, but through her half closed eyelids, she saw nothing. A familiar presence, a warmth, a spirit.

"Mother…" She murmured, recognizing the feeling. Her mother was here, soothing her like she once did in life. A small smile formed on Leilani's lips as she sunk deeper into the invisible presence. It was soothing, and it finally lulled her to sleep.

**-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-**

_It was a beautiful garden, much like the one Serena had seen on Thalia. The flowers there were marvelous. To her left were roses as far as the eye could see with every color under the sun. Red, white, pink, yellow, blue, purple, even green. To her right were thousands of other flowers, of all different colors and species. Camellias, gardenias, forget-me-nots, gloxinias, tulips, zinnias, and many more. It was, just as her first dream had been, breathtakingly beautiful. A flute played in the background, a hauntingly sweet melody. Serena closed her eyes and inhaled deeply, taking in the many fragrances around her. It was relaxing. She lost the feeling of stress and apprehension this new enemy had brought with its appearance. For the first time in the past week and a half, she finally felt at peace._

"_Serena!" A voice said. Serena opened her eyes and turned towards the roses. There, in the midst of the budding flowers, was Darien, or rather, Prince Endymion. He smiled softly at her, but Serena couldn't help but shiver at his gaze. His eyes reflected love, but she felt something deeper then that, something beyond it. Something that felt like madness._

"_Odango!"_

_This time Serena whipped her head back around to the right, her blonde hair trailing after her. Amongst the multitude of beautiful colored flowers was Seiya, the wind making his long jet black hair dance with hers. She looked into his royal blue eyes, and at his gentle, yet still arrogant, smile. And even separated, she could still feel the same warmth she'd felt that night they'd gone dancing. It was still different then Darien's sweetness. More sincere. Stronger, even._

_But she turned back to Darien. Endymion. Her past love. Her current love. Her future husband and the future father to her daughter, Rini. She belonged with him. It was why Queen Serenity had her reborn in the first place._

"I told you…_" A voice hummed in the back of Serena's mind, and she stopped mid-step. It was a woman's voice, so it obviously wasn't Seiya or Darien. It was familiar. Queen Sahara. But by the sound of it, the past Queen was not speaking to her._

"It is her decision." _A new voice replied calmly, and at the sound of the voice, Serena felt tears prick at her eyes. It was Queen Serenity. The two were talking, presumably about her, _inside _of her. How strange._

"But can you really think it's a fair decision? She believes that's what you reincarnated her for. She at least deserves the truth." _Sahara's voice reprimanded. Serena could imagine the woman narrowing her beautiful coffee brown and golden eyes in disappointment._

"But is it right? She needs to find out on her own."_ Serenity_'s _voice didn't sound as sure as it had before. It was laced with uncertainty and fear. Something about that made Serena slightly uncomfortable._

"She'll never be able to find out on her own if she continues to believe this lie." _Sahara said, a trace of anger in her voice. The very thought of it sent feelings worry and dread down her spine. Sahara's very presence made one feel weak in comparison to her awesome power. To have her angry was terrifying, because when looking in her eyes, you could see how easily she could end your existence._

"But is it our place?"_ Serenity asked, her voice quiet. Serena could hear her sadness and felt tears prick at her own eyes as she imagined the very same thing happening to the departed Queen of the Moon Kingdom._

"How can we not interfere? Should destiny run its course, the fate of the entire universe could be at risk." _Now even Sahara sounded indecisive. _

_The two Queens sighed in unison and then Serena felt the warmth of their spirits leave her, and a sudden bitter air hit her like a slap in the face. She wrapped her arms around her middle, bringing her chin down to her chest. The flowers around her leaned with the wind, some free petals dancing away with the breeze. Squinting her eyes against the fierce wind, Serena found a choked gasp in her throat._

_Darien was reaching out to her, his normally intense blue eyes a wild and crazed crimson red. His outstretched hand showed endless calluses, fingers curling towards her. Slowly, he was fading as though the wind was carrying away small particles of him as it blew. Serena wanted to reach for him, but despite the pleading look on his face, the madness in his eyes kept her at bay. Helplessly, Serena watched as the wind carried him away, shadow and all, until he was nothing but a passing memory. Serena turned towards Seiya._

_He was also reaching out for her, palm up, fingers curling towards her. His sapphire blue eyes stared back at her with such intensity, Serena had to shy away from his gaze. But she couldn't help but watch as the wind slowly took him away from her. Determined not to lose anyone else, Serena reached a hand out to him. She stepped forward and placed her smaller hand inside of his, and had to fight not to pull her arm back. A strange, powerful electric shock went through her. It was as if Seiya himself was composed of electricity. After the initial shock of the sensation, she felt it slowly numb and wear off, and Seiya tried to pull her to him, but to no avail. He was vanishing to fast. She saw panic fill his eyes as he looked at her, the wind having taken away the lower part of his body. He tightened his grip on her as his body disappeared even quicker, until soon, all that was left of him was his shoulders and what was above. He opened his mouth as if to tell her something, but it was too late, and the last of Seiya vanished into air, and Serena felt tears slowly make their way down her cheeks. The chilling air mixed with her tears made a cold sting on her face, and her cheeks almost felt frozen._

_Then, the current of air intensified even more. The deafening wind howled in her ears, and she hurriedly cupped her hands over them for protection, leaving her abdomen and forearms vulnerable. The power of the wind knocked her to her knees, and Serena leaned forward, curling into herself for protection and warmth. She felt the air take her away, first taking away her breath. Her lungs screamed for air, but none was being supplied for her. Then she felt her senses disappear. She could no longer feel her hands cupped around her ears. Her fingers were numb, and felt weighted with lead. She nose began to feel clogged. The beautiful meadow around her slowly blurred. It faded, becoming clouded over with white. Slowly, it all faded, becoming nothingness. It was all darkness. Serena felt herself sinking deeper into the darkness, becoming lost, spiraling into the black abyss of nothingness._

**-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-**

Aaliyah blinked away the bright lights in her eyes as she stared up at the sun, absorbing its warmth. It ignited her skin, making her whole body feel like it was aflame and alive, free. She closed her eyes and breathed in the scent of cherry blossoms and flowers. She felt the gentle breeze tussle with her hair, making it dance in the wind. She could hear the faint sound of a flute playing a beautiful soft melody. She knew this place inside and out.

It was Thalia.

She giggled and spun in the meadow like a little girl. Tripping over her own feet, Aaliyah landed in a softly matted bed of flowers. She began to move her arms around her, creating a sort of flower angel. She craned her neck to smell a nearby water lily and giggled as the petals tickled her nose. She didn't care how immature her behavior seemed. She was home. Finally, home again.

Not the planet of darkness, dread and despair her mother and her Shadow people had converted it to, but the real Thalia. The _real _golden planet. But then she heard a scream and Aaliyah shot up, resting her palms on the flowers behind her and leaning back as she looked around. She saw a shape quiver in the flowers and she slowly rose to her feet.

Walking cautiously, Aaliyah approached the figure. She made out it was indeed human. The slight curve in the body told her it was female. Blonde hair. In two blonde Odangos on her head. Serena.

"Serena? Serena!" Aaliyah picked up her speed as she saw that the girl was unresponsive to her. Her body was quivering, but she wasn't moving in any other way. Kneeling down beside Serena, Aaliyah slowly turned the girl towards her and allowed Serena's head to fall to a rest on her lap. And it took at her self control not to jump up and let it fall to the ground.

Serena's once bright cerulean blue eyes were dead black as night. But no stars shone in their dark depths. Her body began to convulse, and darkness flowed around her, in and out of her pores. Her whole being was surrounded in Shadows.

'_Just like me_…' Aaliyah thought sadly, stroking the blonde's hair. She wanted to save her, but found herself frightened of what she knew was happening to the blonde. Her soul was being devoured by Shadows, and she had to live through that pain. How heartrending.

"Aw, don't you just love reunions?" Aaliyah's head snapped up at the sound of Noelle's voice. She turned around and saw a portal opening, revealing to her the Corridor of Dream Mirrors. She saw Noelle leaning against a frame and Rini hugging a blue and white haired boy with a golden horn in the center of his forehead. Aaliyah gently laid Serena's head down and took off in the direction of the mirror.

'_Please, for the life of the past Princess of the Moon…let me make it! Let me save her!_'

**-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-**

"Hello?" Rini's voice echoed around the empty corridor. The walls, if they could be called walls, were pure white. She was in an extensive hall of mirrors, all blank, reflecting her face back at her. It was like in the Dead Moon Circus Tent. There was no way out.

"Do not be afraid." Noelle's voice said. Rini turned around and watched as the pale blue eyed girl stepped from one of the clear crystal mirrors without shattering its fragile surface. She smiled at Rini.

"Where are we?" Rini asked, looking around her. Her gentle red eyes widened as she saw a picture of Serena in a meadow with Darien and Seiya flash across one of the mirrors. She looked at Noelle with questioning eyes and the girl smiled and put a hand on her shoulder.

"We are in the Corridor of Dream Mirrors. All these mirror show all the dreams of the people of the world." Noelle explained.

"And I see your spying on people's dreams again." Rini's eyes widened as she heard the lost voice and turned around just as a figure rounded the corner and froze in its tracks. His curled and slightly unruly hair was blue and white, his eyes a sort of mix between amber and brown. Rini felt tears pool in her eyes as Noelle smiled at him, bowing her head.

"Helios, it's been quite a while." She greeted. She looked down at Rini and realized the girl wasn't speaking. Or moving.

Both she and Helios were perfectly silent, just staring at each other as if the other wasn't real. Noelle rolled her eyes and gave Rini a small shove towards Helios, but it was strong enough the girl stumbled into Helios, who caught her by her elbows and steadied her on her feet.

Noelle smiled as she saw Rini's cheeks tint pink, even if the girls eyes stayed downcast. Slowly, Rini looked up at Helios, and he smiled down softly at her. Rini yanked her arms from his grip and quickly wrapped her arms around him in a hug. Helios smiled down at her and gently put his hands on her shoulders.

"What brings you here, little one?" He asked, his voice soft as he softly ran a hand through one of her ponytails. She looked at him with a smile on her face.

"Helios, I can't believe it! You're really here! After all this time, I can finally see you again! It feels like a dream come true!" Rini gushed, leaning away from Helios to look at his face again, just to make sure he was real. He smiled down at her.

"Aw, don't you just love reunions?" Noelle asked, leaning on a mirror frame showing a woman dancing at a ball as a princess. Noelle tried to not pry into peoples dreams, but sometimes, it was just too interesting to resist! Sure, she felt a bit of guilt, but it was a fleeting thing, seeing into people's dreams. Was it that great an importance?

"Noelle!" A voice shouted.

All three turned to a mirror next to the one Noelle had used in enter. In the mirror was Aaliyah, looking back at them with wild eyes. Rini and Helios ran to the mirror and the three peered passed the frantic girl and looked deeper into the mirror. There was a large meadow of thousands of flowers of thousands of colors of thousands of species. Behind them, on the horizon, rose a large, golden crystal palace. But the scary part was the girl in the center of the meadow.

It was Serena, laying amongst the flowers. She'd be unrecognizable had it not been she was laying among white lilies that made her golden blonde hair shine. Her iris' were red, her sclera's black. She was kicking and hitting at the flowers and air wildly, thrashing her head from side to side. Crazed wails escaped from her wide mouth, blooding pooling in her mouth and flowing over her lips and down her chin. She whole body was convulsing violently, and tears of blood leaked from her eyes and flowed down her cheeks. It was a frightening, sickening sight.

"Serena!" Noelle and Rini shouted out.

Rini ran through the mirror, followed by Noelle and Helios. Aaliyah joined them as they ran to the distraught and erratic blonde. Rini tried to touch her but swiftly drew her hand away and clutched it close to her in pain. Serena's skin was sending off a powerful wave of electricity, and it burned Rini's hand like lightning. But Serena was too caught up in her tyrant to be effected by the pain.

"I can't get her out of it!" Aaliyah shouted, crying. She felt so helpless. The innocent young moon princess was going through all this right in front of her eyes, and she could do nothing about it. Noelle turned to Aaliyah angrily.

"Why aren't you doing anything about it?" Noelle demanded, her voice cutting through Aaliyah like a knife. The girl shook her head.

"T-there's nothing I can do." Aaliyah insisted, turning away from her and clutching her hand to her chest. Noelle stood and stood before her and put her hand's on Aaliyah's shoulders and gave the girl a firm shake, forcing her to meet her eyes. Brown clashed with pale blue. Aaliyah visibly flinched at the anger and irritation in Noelle's eyes.

"This has happened before. I remember. Nevaeh. You saved her. _You're _people did this to her. _Do _something!" Noelle shouted at her angrily, and Aaliyah felt tears flow down her cheeks anew and she cast her gaze downwards. She felt her throat well up.

"I…I can't, Noelle. I don't want to be one of them…I refuse to be associated with them in any way." Aaliyah took Noelle's hands off of her and turned away. Noelle stared after her with a flabbergasted expression before running to catch up with her and blocking her path.

"I don't give a damn what you want right now, Aaliyah. That's not the point. The point right now is that innocent Princess over there. Do you see her? She's dying. She's going through hell in her mind. Only you have the power to stop it, Aaliyah. Are you going to sacrifice an unsullied life of a pure soul just because you fear and hate who you are and your destiny? Are you really that cold hearted?" Noelle rose her voice at the girl, and Aaliyah looked away again. Noelle was right.

She was afraid of who she was, afraid of her destiny. She was the Princess of the Realm of Shadows, Daughter to the Sovereign Queen of Shadows. Evil and malice coursed through her veins. Darkness was the air she breathed. Her aura was filled with sin and cruelty. She was the Devil's daughter. She was the living form of the most cold hearted of tyrants. A killer by birth.

But she was also a Sailor Senshi. She cared for nature, for children, for all life throughout the cosmos. Her heart, no matter how tainted black it may be, was kind and generous. Her dark aura glowed bright with love and compassion. Her negative and lost spirit overflowed with adoration and brightness. She stayed positive and considerate, trying to make up for all the shadows inside of her, that _were _her.

And the kind Aaliyah would not allow her to destroy an innocent life for her own selfish needs.

With that thought, Aaliyah turned on heel and marched back to the still convulsing blonde. Rini and Helios were trying to approach her without shocking themselves, which seemed impossible. Whatever was doing this to Serena had built walls around her, keeping everyone else out, but the demonic evil in. Aaliyah knelt beside her, Noelle standing behind her. She put a hand on Aaliyah's shoulder and gave it a comforting squeeze.

"You can do this. I know you can." She whispered encouragingly. Aaliyah nodded and took a shaky breath.

Slowly, she reached past what seemed to be a dark barrier that did not appear until she went to touch the girl. With no trouble, she passed through the small barrier and wrapped her arms around Serena's shoulders and pulled the blonde closer to her. Aaliyah looked deep in her lost eyes and leaned closer to her. Slowly, Aaliyah took her tongue and slowly ran it up from Serena's chin to her lower lip until all the blood that flowed from her mouth was gone. She repeated the action, licking the blood away that was trailing down Serena's cheeks.

Licking her lips, Aaliyah closed the distance between her mouth and Serena's. She was surprised by how soft they were, but shoved her tongue between Serena's sealed tight lips. Slowly, she sucked in the blood from her mouth and continued with the kiss, literally absorbing the Shadow energy in Serena's body. She removed her lips from Serena's and Rini and Helios gasped.

A black wave of Shadows still flowed from Serena's mouth into Aaliyah's, and Aaliyah absorbed it eagerly. Like it was the last bit of food she would ever eat and she was trying to make it last. Slowly, the Shadow's faded and Aaliyah gently laid Serena's comatose body back on a bed of lush green grass and soft flower petals. She slowly stood to her feet and turned back to the trio menacingly, and Rini clutched Helios's shirt and hid behind him.

Blood was now in Aaliyah's mouth, her bangs a wild frenzy of black hair. Her nostrils flared, and over her swollen, voluptuous peeked two sharp, pearl white fangs. Her eye's were completely black except for dilating red pupils. A deep red tongue ran across her fangs, her eyes narrowing at them. Her hands shifted, and her short nails extended into long, sharp claws. A low snarl erupted from her throat and Noelle took a step back. Aaliyah's clothes vanished and she now wore halter top dark purple dress. A thin, decorative layer overlaid the skirt of her floor length gown. A tiara wove through her hair, a final jewel resting on her forehead. A think gold necklace adorned her neck, similar to the gold pearled bracelet on her left wrist. Her arms were adorned up to the crook of her elbows with pale purple gloves.

"_Run!_" She hissed, and Aaliyah charged at them. Her speed was so sudden, it was as if she was moving without legs. Helios grabbed Rini and ran off with her.

Aaliyah was in hot pursuit of Noelle, who's feet thudded against the ground as she ran. Helios transformed into Pegasus and Rini climbed onto his back and the two took to the skies, flying high above the two girls on the ground.

"Helios, what's going on?" Rini asked, holding onto Pegasus' blue-white mane tightly.

"_I'm not sure, little one, but we must save Noelle._" Pegasus replied, and Rini ducked down as Pegasus descended on the scene.

He flew beside Noelle and the girl ducked to the side. She scrambled on Pegasus' back, Rini helping to pull her up. Noelle sat behind the girl, looking back at her psychotic friend with sadness and fear in her pale blue eyes.

"Noelle, what's wrong with Aaliyah?" Rini asked, turning over her shoulder to face the girl. Noelle's eyes glistened with even more unshed tears.

"The Shadows, they're calling her back. Making her reveal her true form. Only Leilani can save her now." Noelle replied, her voice empty. Rini felt a shiver go down her spine at the sound. Noelle sounded so…hopeless. It was unnerving. Rini turned back around and buried her face in Pegasus' mane, hoping to dry the tears before they began to flow.

_Please, Leilani, help us…_

**-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-**

'_Where am I…?_' Leilani wondered. She was in a bed in an unfamiliar room. The bed it self was soft, like a cloud, easy to sink in to. The comforter was jet black, the sheets a deep lavender. But no matter how comfortable the bed was, Leilani couldn't be at ease looking around the room.

It was the very definition of darkness. The walls were a raven bleak black, no light shone in. The air was filled with suffocating shadows, making breathing slightly difficult for her. The room itself gave off an aura of pure evil. It sent a terrified shiver down Leilani's spine. This was the home of malevolence, the abide of the Devil.

Sitting up, Leilani looked around for an exit. The tainted black crystal walls made it hard to find a single door. She slowly slid her feet from below the blanket and lowered them to touch the crystal floor. It was deathly cold, and sent a shiver through Leilani's body. Hesitantly, she lowered her other foot to the floor and unstably rose to her feet.

Gradually, she made her way across the floor. Her feet slid across the freezing crystal quietly, and as she reached the wall, Leilani softly placed her palm on the blackened crystal wall, and a shock went through her body.

A scene played across her mind. It was of a younger her, sitting in the lap of a tall woman with a small crown atop her head. Her mother. Queen Sahara. Young Princess Celestia was holding a small doll, each feature on its delicate plastic features emphasized and chiseled. Sahara delicately took a brush through the Princess' hair, smoothening the long black waves with care. The Princess used the same gentle strokes as her mother to brush the sleek black haired of the brown eyed doll in her hands.

As the scene disappeared, Leilani's eyes widened in realization. This room…it was once golden, composed of thousands of small gold crystals. Each crystal perfectly reflected the sun's rays, keeping the room warm. This room was once golden, now tainted black. It was her palace. The palace of Thalia. And this room…

It was her mother's.

Slowly, Leilani sank to her knees as sobs racked her body, and she buried her face in her hands. Her long hair formed a curtain around her, hiding her tears from any prying eyes. She continued to weep. For her brother. For Sailor Thalassa, Sailor Himalia, Sailor Hydra, Sailor Super Nova, Sailor Black Hole, Sailor Phobos, and Sailor Deimos. For her mother. For her kingdom. For her planet. For everything she'd ever known. All of it was gone, destroyed. Forever.

"Mother…I…I'm so sorry…Everyone…I…I failed you…" She murmured between her sobs.

Then, she felt even more darkness flood into her. Not from the room, but from…herself. Looking down, Leilani gingerly caressed her Celestial Jewel while her eyes widened. The crescent moon inside of the sun was near pitch black, its light eclipsed by darkness. Leilani's lips pressed into a form line and her jaw held firm. She pulled herself to her feet and placed her hand's on the crystal wall. Serena was in danger, and Leilani had to save her. She would not allow anyone else to die for the Shadows.

Standing, Leilani held her Celestial Divine Jewel high above her head, and the golden rimmed rays began to glow. Closing her eyes, Leilani clutched the jewel tightly in her fist.

"_By the power of the Divine One, give me strength! Help me to protect the ones I love, help my save the reincarnation of the Moon Princess! Divine Princess Invocation!"_

With those words, the golden light through Leilani, making her also glow. The light expanded into the entire room, before transporting Leilani to the dream word where Serena's comatose body lay.

But as she began to dematerialize, she saw something. A flash of gold. For a fraction of a second, the dark room was reverted to its once form. And Leilani could swear that in the second, she'd seen the smiling face of her mother, silently encouraging her on.

'_Mother__…Thalia…I will not fail you again.'_

**-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-**

"Rini, we can't keep using Pegasus like this. We have to transform!" Noelle whispered harshly in the younger girl's ear. Rini looked into her determined pale blue eyes and nodded.

"_Moon Cosmic Dream Action!"_

"_Eclipse Angelic Power!"_

Sailor Eclipse looked back at her still madly possessed friend and frowned in though before turning back to Sailor Mini Moon.

"Mini Moon…do you trust me?" She asked quietly, and Pegasus glanced over his shoulder as he saw Mini Moon turn to Eclipse.

"Eclipse…yes, I do." Mini Moon murmured at last.

Eclipse nodded with a small smile on her face and wrapped her arms around Mini Moon's waist. With care, she gently pushed herself off of Pegasus and into the sky without releasing Mini Moon, who closed her eyes in fear.

Realizing they were not going to come crashing to the ground, Mini Moon hesitantly opened her eyes. They were flying! She looked up at Noelle, who was glancing back at Aaliyah. She brought her gaze up to Mini Moon's and smiled.

"That's right, Mini Moon. What did you think 'angelic' was for?" She asked, and Mini Moon watched as small angel wings appeared on Eclipse's back. They fluttered in the wind as Eclipse gained speed and Pegasus flew beside them.

"_Sailor Eclipse, how do we stop them?"_ Pegasus asked. Noelle turned her head in his direction.

"We must continue to flee until Leilani can get here. Only her power can free Aaliyah from the darkness that is herself." Noelle replied, looking to the skies again. Pegasus nodded and Mini Moon frowned as she looked back at the still savage Aaliyah, who was following them at a frighteningly close pace.

Then, a strange golden light appeared high above their heads. It blinded all four of the beings. Mini Moon turned away, Pegasus tried to peer past the golden light, Aaliyah covered her eyes with her hands and hissed, while Eclipse just narrowed her eyes at the light, pressing her hand against her forehead to black some of the golden rays. A smile shone on her face.

Slowly, the light took shape. First, two feet appeared, and the light continued to move upwards. The feet were soon covered in red boots that traveled upwards with the light, ending just below the knees. As it continued to move, a short red skirt with a transparent yellow layer below it appeared. Then a yellow back bow, moving upwards until a sailor fuku was shown. The light continue to reveal the figure until floating before them was Sailor Celestia.

Pegasus watched in awe as Sailor Mini Moon and Sailor Eclipse were suddenly glowing with their own auras, one pink and one sky blue. Eclipse released Mini Moon and they both floated up around Celestia on their own.

Then, the other Senshi appeared. To Eclipse's right was first Titania, with a light purple aura, Comet, in a green aura, Sailor Mars, in a red aura, Mercury, blue aura, Venus, orange aura, Jupiter, in a darker green aura then Comet, Star Fighter, in a deeper red aura then Mars, Star Healer, yellow aura, Star Maker, violet aura, Sailor Uranus, navy blue aura, Neptune, marine blue aura, Pluto, black aura, Sailor Saturn, purple aura, and back to Sailor Mini Moon.

"What are we doing here?" Uranus asked, looking around at her fellow Senshi.

As she spoke, Serena's body was surrounded in a yellow-pink quivering aura of light. The girl's eyes fluttered open, revealing their cerulean blue depths.

"Odango!" Star Fighter called.

Serena blinked and turned towards the sound of her voice. Her whole body was soon engulfed in the light of her aura as she floated up and joined the floating Senshi. She was placed between Mini Moon and Eclipse.

"_Give her your power…_" A voice murmured.

It was actually two voices. Two voices of two Queens looking down on the scene from above. The Senshi all blinked and looked up, searching for the source of the sound, but there appeared to be none. The voice was nowhere, essence in itself.

"You have heard her voice. Lend your power to the Divine Princess." Pluto ordered. The Senshi all nodded and closed their eyes, sending their energy and power to Sailor Celestia.

"_Pluto Crystal Power!"_

"_Saturn Crystal Power!"_

"_Uranus Crystal Power!"_

"_Neptune Crystal Power!"_

"_Jupiter Crystal Power!"_

"_Venus Crystal Power!"_

"_Mars Crystal Power!"_

"_Mercury Crystal Power!"_

"_Fighter Star Power!"_

"_Healer Star Power!"_

"_Maker Star Power!"_

"_Titania Angelic Power!"_

"_Comet Angelic Power!"_

"_Eclipse Angelic Power!"_

"_Moon Cosmic Dream Action!"_

"_Moon Eternal Power!"_

The Senshi closed their eyes and bowed their heads as they lent their power to Celestia. Again, the Divine Princess was engulfed in a golden light as all the colored beams came at her. The light coming from the union of the powerful beams of light was blinding, and Pegasus continued to watch in amazement at the scene before him.

As the light dimmed, Celestia was again visible. But she was no longer a Senshi.

She now sported a golden yellow strapless gown. The top of the gown was styled in a fashion somewhat similar to a corset, with straps off of her shoulders that hung limply on her arms. At her waist, the gown spread out so it cascaded around her. As it reached its seams, the golden yellow shade darkened. Her hair grew in length until it cascaded past her ankles. Dainty laced pale yellow gloves traveled up to the crook of her elbows. A silver necklace looped three times around her neck, matching the diamond silver earrings in her ears that coolly graced her shoulders. Her bracelet silver and adorned with pearls, wrapping around her wrist three times. Her lips were painted a deep scarlet red. Her Celestial Jewel necklace hung around her neck, dropping below her breasts. On her head, a small, golden tiara stuck out amongst the long, sleek ebony locks.

"Princess Celestia…" Titania, Eclipse and Comet murmured. Aaliyah snarled and snapped her fangs. Celestia slowly opened her eyes and Sailor Moon gasped. They looked much like the eyes the spirit of Queen Sahara had. They were still a gentle shade of coffee brown, her iris', sclera's, and pupil's rimmed in golden light.

Slowly, Princess Celestia took a step down. Literally. The air acted as stepping stones to her, and she used them to walk down towards Aaliyah, who crouched down defensively at her approach. Celestia did not falter. Aaliyah snarled again, glowering at the Divine Princess. Celestia came to a stop inches from the ground, and not even five feet away from Aaliyah. She slowly blinked her eyes.

Holding out her hands, a scepter formed in Celestia's hands. It was long and golden, the felt material a bloody scarlet red. The scepter grew longer, thinner. It continued to grow and its very shade and form began to change. Soon, it was the glaive of Sailor Celestia, but it was slightly different. It was longer, the point sharper. Where the handle separated from the point, there sat the Celestial Jewel. A ray of sunlight made the jewel glow, the light of the crescent moon inside the jewel glowing brighter then it had been before.

"Princess of the Shadows, your people have overtaken you. Tainted your soul. Be free. Return to your pure form. Divine Purifying Eradication!"

She pointed the tip of her glaive at Aaliyah's forehead, the sharpened point grazing the girl's forehead with a feather light touch. Aaliyah screamed out in pain and fear. The golden light from the tip of Celestia's glaive slowly overtook her, purifying her soul. As the golden light disappeared, all that remained was a still floating Princess Celestia and Aaliyah, who had fallen on her knees before her Princess. Her eyes were a dark purple, slowly lightening to their natural amethyst color. She blinked rapidly and looked up at the Divine Princess.

"Princess…Celestia…?" Her voice was soft, questioning. Tears glistened in her eyes. Celestia smiled back softly at her.

"Aaliyah, my Sailor Pandora…welcome back." Celestia murmured. A sad and relieved smile appeared on Aaliyah's face and she bowed low before her Princess.

The other Senshi slowly floated back to Thalia and walked towards Celestia.

"Wow…" Sailor Mini Moon murmured. Pegasus trotted up to stand beside her and Mini Moon absentmindedly petted him. Pegasus transformed back to Helios and Mini Moon gave him a small smile.

Suddenly, a large black Shadow shot up from her body and shot into the sky, leaving Aaliyah to fall to the ground unconsciously. It took the form of a woman with an extremely slim figure. Her hair was long and jet black, flowing past her feet. Her eyes were all red except for black dilating pupils. Her eyes greatly resembled the form of the eyes of a snake.

"_How dare you!" _She hissed, her hair flaring with the fire in her eyes. Celestia narrowed her eyes at the woman and shot into the air and floated before her.

"Queen Shadow, this girl is my friend and like a sister to me. You are not welcome here, on my home. Be gone!" Celestia unleashed a golden wave of power but Shadow dodged and glowered at the Divine Princess.

"_You may have foiled my plans here, but I will not leave without one soul!" _Shadow shouted, and with that, she lunged at Sailor Moon.

She stopped mid-descent and unleashed a powerful wave of Shadow Beings that continued her onslaught. Celestia did not have time to go and protect Eternal Sailor Moon, and could only watch helplessly as the Shadows advanced on the young girl. Sailor Moon crouched into herself, crossing her arms in front of her head. Uranus tried to move to her Princess, but the Shadows were too fast. Or at least, to fast for her.

Fighter screamed out in pain as she took the blow meant for Sailor Moon. All eye's widened at the Starlights action and they saw her fall to the ground in pain, clutching her abdomen. Her knees buckled below her and she fell face first into the dirt.

"Fighter!" Sailor Moon shouted, running to her friends side.

Queen Shadow narrowed her eyes but then chuckled maniacally.

"_I will claim all of you friends and allies, Divine Princess. I will force you into the dark depths of loneliness I know you so loathe, and I will kill you slowly and painfully, just as I killed your mother!"_ With a final cackle, Queen Shadow disappeared in a swirl of Shadows.

Celestia narrowed her eyes at the woman and a growl escaped her throat. Then, the golden aura around her slowly vanished. Her eyes rolled back into her head revealing all whites. Her body turned downwards and plummeted to the ground.

"Celestia!" Eclipse called. Helios quickly transformed back to Pegasus and flew towards the falling unconscious girl and let her fall harmlessly on his back. He flew down to join the others who were gathering around a convulsing Star Fighter.

"We have to help her!" Sailor Moon insisted, looking around at her friends. Mercury took out her micro-computer and began trying to research what was going on inside of the raven haired Starlight.

"What can we do?" Venus asked, turning to Healer and Maker, who shrugged. Mars wheeled on Titania and Comet.

"You guys have to be able to do something!" The Soldier of Fire and Passion demanded. Titania and Comet exchanged a sad and forlorn glance before shaking their heads.

"Only Celestia and Aaliyah can save them. Aaliyah can do nothing without being consumed by the Shadow blood flowing in her veins." Titania replied, her voice reflected the hopelessness she was feeling inside. Comet lowered her head, keeping her gaze fixed on a few pink tulips around her feet.

"No…" Sailor Moon murmured, cradling Fighter's head in her lap.

Uranus helped Celestia off of Pegasus as he de-transformed back to Helios and held her for a moment, but dropped her in an instant as two more Shadow demons lunged themselves into the Soldier Sky and Fury from behind. She screamed out and hunched over onto the ground, right hand holding fistfuls of flower stems and grass. Neptune rushed to her side.

"Uranus!" She shouted as her partner fell onto her stomach with a dull _thud. _She turned Uranus over and placed her head on her lap.

"Damn them, where are they coming from?" Eclipse asked, taking the defensive. Saturn tightened her grip on her glaive, her knuckles clenching tightly below her gloves.

"What are we supposed to do then?" Pluto asked, holding her Garnet Rod with a death tight grip. The cool of the metal seeped through her gloves.

"_I will not allow this to continue…"_ A voice said. All eyes turned upwards as two clouds appeared, one golden and one pure white. From the clouds, two women emerged.

From the white cloud came Queen Serenity of the Moon Kingdom. She looked just as she had in all of her other meeting with the Senshi, the same white hair and white gown with a yellow crescent moon.

From the golden cloud emerged Queen Sahara. Her gown was strapless and white, thick sleeves hanging loosely below her shoulders. Around her waistband was a pink floral belt. The jewelry she wore was similar to the jewelry of Aaliyah in her Princess gown. On her head was a small, golden crown.

"_The time is not right…_" Serenity insisted, but Sahara ignored her and descended upon the scene of the two dying Senshi. The Thalian Senshi bowed to her, and the other Senshi followed their example.

"_Dear Senshi…you have been so brave. Thank you for being there for my daughter, and I beg you to continue. Help her, stand by her. Guide her in this troubled time. In return, I will tell you all you need to know to defeat the Shadows and move on to the bright future ahead of you."_ Sahara promised.

"Queen Sahara, can you…save them?" Sailor Moon asked, tears streaming down her cheeks. Sahara smiled gently at her.

"_Of course, young Princess. Please, lay them before me." _Sahara replied, gesturing with her hand to the bed of pink, yellow and white lilies before her.

Sailor Moon and Sailor Neptune laid the convulsing, unconscious Star Fighter and Sailor Uranus in front of the Queen. Sahara lowered herself so the ends of her dress grazed the tips of flower petals, but she remained floating. She held out a fist and opened her hand. In her palm lay the Celestial Jewel. All eyes glanced to Celestia's comatose body and the empty chain around the Divine Princess' neck. The jewel was indeed gone.

Sahara made the Celestial Jewel slowly levitate above her palm on its own, and forced it away from her so it floated right at the feet of both unconscious convulsing Senshi, equivalent in height to the center of Queen Sahara's forehead. The spirit of the Divine Queen closed her eyes.

"_Save the Senshi, give them strength, free their souls and restore their power! __Rin, Pyou, Tou, Sha, Kai, Jin, Retsu, Zai, Zen!"_

With the ninth word, a golden light flowed from the Jewel and bathed the two Senshi laying in the flowers. Their bodies floated upwards as the light purified their souls, forcing out the dark Shadow beings that took to the sky. Serenity shook her head as she watched Sahara purify the two Senshi.

Then, all of the Senshi were once again glowing with their auras as they also floated to the skies. All looked around in confusion as Celestia's cataleptic body also floated up. Only Helios remained on the ground, watching as all the Senshi were slowly engulfed in their auras, and slowly disappeared.

"Will they be alright?" Helios asked. Serenity turned to him with a sad smile.

"_Yes, they will be. Until tomorrow night, that is."_

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"_Ahh!"_ Screams of shock sounded out through the room as everyone shot up awake. Beads of sweat ran down their foreheads, breath coming out in uneven pants.

Luna lazily blinked her eyes open and stood on her paws, looking to make sure Diana and the Senshi were alright. Princess Kakyuu immediately sat up and looked around with alarm.

"Is everyone alright?" She asked, blinking the sleepiness out of her eyes.

All of them exchanged a glance. No one really wanted to over worry the Fireball Princess, but how were they to explain to the events that had just happened in the dream dimension. Leilani sighed tiredly.

"Just a nightmare. A vindictive, sadistic nightmare."

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**Translation: Young Past Princess of the Moon Kingdom, I give to you my strength! As Queen Sahara, regent of the Universe, Queen of the Divine Kingdom and chosen bearer of the Divine Crystal, I grant to you this power. Guide my daughter, help her. You two are the lights of hope for the Universe. Divine Luminous Divination!**

**Layla: Holy cow. I hope you guys love us, because this was 50 pages long! **_**50**_**!**

**Aqua: Hoped you all liked! Sorry if it was off to a rough start, hoped it got better for you all like we think it did!**

**Kelsey: We thank all of you for reading, and would love it if you would be so kind as to please review! Pretty please?**

**Emma: Yes, please, hit that nice blue button right there! No, not that one, hit that one later. Look for the one that says review. Go over some…over some more…some more…a bit more…go back a little…now go up…up some more…more…wait, no, go down…you know what? It's blue. It says Review This Chapter. Please, hit that button and review this chapter for us so you can get an update!**

**Jazz: Thank you so much to you fantabulous readers, pretty please review! Lots of love to you all! R&R!**


	8. The Morning After

**The Shadows Arc**

**Chapter 7: The Morning After**

**Disclaimer: Nope. No. Don't own it. Oh well.**

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***=Shadows, descend…**

****=Dance, my flames**

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**Jazz: Thank you all for reviewing!**

**Layla: You guys don't know how much reviews mean to us! Really, you have no idea!**

**Aqua: Christmas morning!**

**Kelsey: Aqua…it's March.**

**Aqua: But that's how happy reviews make me feel!**

**Emma: This is why I've given up on her.**

**Jazz: **_**Anyways**_**, please review, and enjoy the chapter!**

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Trista stood in their doorway and watched as Amara and Michelle were also forced out of the dream world and back into reality. The strange dream had disturbed even her, and she vaguely wondered why the Queen of Shadows had chosen Sailor Moon and Sailor Uranus as her targets.

"What was that…?" Amara asked. Trista inwardly sighed.

This weekend was supposed to bring the Senshi together, but it also appeared as though much more would happen, bringing them another step closer to the final battle against the Shadows. But Trista had a feeling that they were not prepared for the evil they would face.

"That was no dream. We were taken to the Corridor of Dream Mirrors in Elysion for a reason. Queen Sahara and Queen Serenity brought us there, to save her daughter, but also for another purpose." Trista explained.

"But what was their other purpose?" Michelle asked. Trista frowned.

"I'm not sure. But I have a feeling we will find out tonight." She replied, turning away from the other Outer Senshi. Michelle frowned and turned to the clock. It was 5:43.

"I suppose we should get up." Michelle said. Trista turned to her in confusion.

"Why now?" The green haired woman asked. Michelle looked to her.

"If our fallen Queen and the fallen Queen of the Heavens want us to get closer to the Thalians, we have the perfect opportunity to at least try to do so today." She answered, walking past Trista and out of the room. Trista looked to Amara who nodded and also walked past her.

Trista walked into the room and looked out of the window, staring up at the fading moon. Its light was unusually dim, and the woman frowned. If she squinted her eyes, she could swear, that there were dark, quivering clouds trying to cover up the moon. She closed her eyes and bowed her head.

"Fallen Queens, please, be with me as I try to guide our Senshi to the light in the darkness that shall soon befall this world."

As she said these words, Trista felt a warm breeze blow through her hair, from behind her and then out the window. In the breeze, she felt a warm hand cup her cheek. She wanted to lean into the ghostly touch, but as soon as it had appeared, it was gone. She smiled faintly up at the moon, and even through its dim light and the few remaining stars of the sky, she saw the silhouettes of the two Queens, smiling down at her. The spirit of the Queen of the Heavens parted her lips, her words traveling on the breeze back to the woman.

"_Be strong, Pluto…"_

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Kristen leisurely slipped on her slippers and tied her robe around her. Her hair was a mess, her eyes still glazed over with sleep, her limbs still stiff from hours of resting. Lazily rubbing her curled fist against her eye, she yawned and made her way to the hall. She walked to the kitchen and leaned on the doorway as she watched her brother making some coffee.

"Mind making me a cup?" She asked, and Malcolm sighed but complied.

She sat down at the table and patiently waited. He handed her a mug, before setting one down on the table for himself and sitting down across from her. A silence befell the two as the slowly sipped their drinks, neither sure how to break the silence. Finally, Malcolm cleared his throat.

"Did Queen Sahara visit you in your dreams last night as well?" Malcolm asked, taking a spoon and stirring his coffee. Kristen bit her lower lip in thought.

"Yes, she did. Did she speak to you?" Kristen leaned back and looked at her brother and he did the same, looking into her eyes as he spoke to her.

"No, but I believe she was trying to."

"I agree. Her lips moved, but I heard nothing." Kristen sighed.

"Sadly, I'm not much of a lip reader." Malcolm joked, and a small smile tugged at Kristen's lips. She tucked a strand of her long red hair behind her ear and looked up at him again.

"Did you see the moon?" She asked. Malcolm furrowed his brow.

"No, I didn't. Why?"

"Because, the moon was…dim. As if its light is dying out." She replied, her voice a soft gentle whisper. Malcolm looked at her.

"Did you see the Sun?"

"No, only the moon. What did you see in the Sun?"

"It was not the Sun. It was the Sun of the Celestial Jewel. It glowed with exceptionally bright light. Its rays were so powerful, I could feel them as if our Princess were right there." Malcolm explained.

Kristen nodded and turned to the window where the first few rays of morning light were beginning to shine through. Malcolm saw a single tear fall from her eye and roll down her cheek and immense guilt flooded his heart.

"I'm so sorry, Kristen." He said quietly, and Kristen turned to him, a small, sad smile on her face.

"You have nothing to apologize for, Malcolm. I followed you here to Earth, because I knew you and the other Guardians were still alive. Its my own fault that I did not do more to help save Thalia. I just grieve for the loss of our Queen and our home planet." Kristen replied. Malcolm turned away from her.

"We shouldn't have charged into that battle so many years ago." He murmured, and Kristen sighed.

"I will not disagree with you, but nor will I agree with the Courts decision. I think your banishment was wrong. But I had to come after you brother, to see you with my own eyes, and be sure you were alive." Kristen whispered, and Malcolm turned to her, a small smile on his face.

"I honestly think I have one of the most considerate sister in the world." He said, smile widening.

"And the only sister who would risk everything to be with you again." She replied, winking.

A soft chuckle escaped Malcolm's lips and they both looked out the window at the rising sun. It painted the sky with beautiful shades of red and orange. The darkness slowly crept away from the light as the sun began to illuminate the sky. Kristen sighed as she watched the soothing and peaceful natural works of nature.

"Princess, we will find you…" She murmured. Malcolm placed one hand over hers.

"And we will save the cosmos and redeem our people." Malcolm promised. They both smiled and Kristen turned her hand over so she was holding Malcolm's.

Yes, they'd get through this just as they had gotten through everything else that had happened to them. Together.

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"Did you all feel that in the night?" A girl with dark coffee brown skin asked, her golden amber eyes flashing with worry. Her light electric blue hair was disheveled but she paid no attention to her appearance.

"It's impossible for us not to have felt it." Another girl replied. Her skin was a shade lighter then her companion's, her maroon red eyes calm, her knee length green hair in small tangles.

"I can do without your sarcasm, but I worry for our Princess." The first one snapped, the second shrugging.

"Fighting will solve nothing." A third said. Her skin was fair, and balanced with pure white hair. Her piercing green eyes flashed and the first two lowered their gazes in shame. She was writing on a piece of paper, humming a beautiful melody softly to herself.

"We know, but the stress of our situation is just becoming too overwhelming." The first one said sadly, and the second nodded in agreement.

"Come on, guys! We've done enough moping around here and it's not going to solve anything!" A new girl exclaimed. Her hair was long and pink and divided into two pigtails on either side of her hair that flowed down to her knees. Her eyes were a bright shade of aqua green, a wide smile on her delicate pink lips.

"Yeah, she's right. We're all a little stressed here, but that's no reason to get depressed or turn against each other. We're still optimistic because we know we will soon find our Princess." Another new girl said. Her hair was styled similarly to her friends, but her two long pigtails were light blue and her eyes pink.

"No, you're both optimistic because you're the positive twins. You're so upbeat its scary." The girl with green hair said. The twins rolled their eyes.

"However overly optimistic they may be, they still speak the truth. We must all remain positive if we ever hope to locate our Princess again and save the cosmos from the approaching darkness." The white haired one murmured.

The others nodded and the green haired one left. The girl with blue hair silently excused herself and followed. The two twins began conversing with one another and the white haired girl walked out onto the balcony. She looked up sadly at the rising sun.

"Princess Celestia…soon, we shall all be reunited once again..."

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"So…what're we supposed to do?" Noelle asked after Kakyuu, Luna and Diana had gone back to sleep. It was still early after all. And it was the weekend. Aaliyah hadn't spoken yet and was refusing to meet anyways eyes, including Hotaru's, who was beginning to get frustrated.

"Right now, I guess…go on with our lives and act like it never happened." Leilani shrugged.

She was so lost in thought, she zoned out right after she'd spoken. If it hadn't been for the feeling of her lips brushing against her teeth, she wouldn't have known it was she that had spoken. She just couldn't shake the image of her mother's spirit from her mind. And now, she felt a sort of warmth around her. Her mother was still there.

"Mom…why are you keeping secrets from me, even after death?" She murmured quietly, and none of her friends seemed to have heard her. She felt the warmth temporarily vanish, only to be replaced by a bitter cold. The warmth slowly returned, and Leilani took a shaky breath.

As comforting as the warmth of her mother's spirit was, she wasn't sure if it was trustworthy enough.

"I'm so sorry…" Aaliyah whispered guiltily. Hotaru narrowed her eyes in anger and jumped to her feet.

"I'm sick of you saying that! Ever since we woke up, that's all you've done! Apologize! And I've reached my wits end of it! Don't act all guilty because darkness inside of you controlled you and made you do things you regret." Hotaru snapped. Kakyuu stirred and Luna groggily blinked awake.

"You wouldn't understand…" Aaliyah murmured, and Hotaru felt her throat choke up and she narrowed her eyes.

"I wouldn't understand? I used to have seizures…I did bad things…I hurt innocent people…because a dark evil lived deep inside of me. Mistress 9. Sailor Moon saved me. Without her, a being that lived _inside of me_, would have been responsible for the destruction of the world." Hotaru replied, tears flowing down her cheeks. Aaliyah's eyes widened.

"Hotaru…I'm so sorry…I had no idea…" Aaliyah whispered, tears pooling in her eyes. She slowly stood an wrapped her arms around the stiff Hotaru. The young girl did not react, and simply let Aaliyah hold her as she cried.

"No, you didn't know." Hotaru said. She shrugged Aaliyah's arms off of her and ran into Leilani's room, slamming the door behind her. Aaliyah glanced behind her sadly at her friends, her eyes pleading for a second, before turning and taking off after Hotaru.

"Look at that. Not even friends 24 hours and we're going downhill." Naomi sighed. Chelsea turned and glared at her as Kakyuu opened her eyes. Luna and Diana stretched as they awoke near Serena and Rini.

"Aaliyah's been through a lot, okay? Back off, she and Hotaru need some space." The tall blonde said angrily and Naomi rolled her eyes.

"Even broken up, their in love." Naomi sighed mock-dreamily. Chelsea glowered at the girl.

"No, its concern as a friend. And I see right through you, Naomi, you've wanted Aaliyah since day one!" Chelsea countered. Naomi now glared at the blonde.

"Best to hold your tongue, Chelsea. You know how much I hate lies." Naomi growled.

To anyone else, the words may have just stung, but other then that, meant nothing. _If _it affected them at all. But it was different for Chelsea. It must have held some deeper meaning. The comment obviously hit a nerve. A nerve that forced Chelsea to snap and she lunged at the girl, hands outstretched to wrap around her throat. Naomi grabbed her by her forearms and both fell to the floor, continually trying to pin the other down for better leverage. Hair was pulled, teeth met skin, each met the other for every punch and every kick.

Lita, Raye, Noelle and Mina had to pull the girls apart. Lita and Raye held a firm grip on a squirming Chelsea while Noelle and Mina prevented an outraged Naomi from another attack. Rini hid fearfully behind Serena. She'd never seen two friends so angry at each other before. Kakyuu watched on silently, eyes narrowed in thought.

"Damn you!" Chelsea screamed. No one was sure whether she was talking to the two determined girls who held her back, Naomi, or some other person for a deeper meaning. Naomi scoffed.

"Don't think this is over so soon for you, Chelsea." And with that, Naomi shrugged off Mina and Noelle's arms and made her way to the door, opening it, then shutting it with a loud, echoing slam. Chelsea glared at the closed door, while the others looked at it sadly.

When the door opened again, Chelsea growled but immediately calmed down. It was only Seiya, followed by Taiki and Yaten.

"Did we…miss something?" Taiki asked, looking at the still enraged Chelsea still in Raye and Lita's grip. She refused to look back at the three, instead finding the black screen of the TV much more interesting.

"Noelle or someone will explain it to you. I've gotta go find Naomi." Leilani said. She walked past the Three Lights and opened the door, closing it much less forcefully then Naomi had. Everyone stared after her with frowns. Seiya looked back again at the shocked and fuming blonde in Lita and Raye's arms.

"Really, what did we miss?"

**-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-**

"Hotaru, please, sweetheart…let me in…" Aaliyah begged, but there was no sound of movement on the other side of the door. She sighed and put her forehead against the cool of the wood. Hotaru had run in and locked the door, and Aaliyah really didn't want to have to use force to let herself in.

Guilt tugged madly at the strings of Aaliyah's heart. She hadn't known all Hotaru had been through, and in there, she'd made a mockery of it. And watching those beautiful young purple eyes…seeing her heart break in their depths…it was too painful for Aaliyah. But she had to make things rights with Hotaru. In the short time she'd known the girl, she'd become precious to her. It was apparent even Leilani found some favor in her. And Aaliyah wasn't prepared to let this precious one get away.

"Hotaru, sweetie, I'm asking for the last time…please, let me in…" Aaliyah said softly, left ear against the door inches from her right palm.

She heard shuffling noises, and a muffled 'Leave me alone'. She sighed, it was high time to intervene.

Closing her eyes, Aaliyah took a step back from the door and placed both her palms on the cool wooden surface. Curling her fingers in slightly, she felt small strands of white painted wood peel into her fingernails. She ignored the feeling. Closing her eyes, she allowed the darkness in her soul to slowly ebb through. Not too much, just a little. Enough for a quick night show.

"_Tenebrae descendere*…"_ She whispered. She felt the dark energy seep from her fingertips and through the door, into the room where Hotaru now hid.

Opening her eyes, Aaliyah saw the lights in the room suddenly flash off. Then on. Off again. Then, the light went static between the two, as though it were affected by lightning. She heard Hotaru squeal and kept the guilt from making her take back her actions. Without seeing it, Aaliyah knew exactly what was going on behind the door. Dark Shadows danced through the room, jeering at Hotaru, sending things flying, being mischievous as always. She could feel Hotaru's fear, she could _taste _it, and had to bit her lower lip to resist a moan. Fear was one of the most delectable emotions to feed for Shadow Energy. But the best were anger, jealousy, irritation, and insanity.

But she couldn't feast off of Hotaru. She just couldn't.

It wasn't right.

Aaliyah was jostled out of her thoughts when she heard the door knob frantically twist open. She pushed off of the door and stood as Hotaru ran right into her, wrapping her arms around the older girl. Aaliyah put her hands on Hotaru's shoulders and smiled. It had worked. She felt her shirt being lightly stained, and realized Hotaru's fears had caused her to begin to silently cry. She pushed Hotaru away from her and knelt before the young girl, a hand on her chin. She forced Hotaru to look into her eye, a serious look with such intensity that Hotaru flinched. Then, Aaliyah smirked.

"Gotcha." She said quietly. She felt the Shadows flow back into her body but said nothing. Hotaru's eyes widened.

"_You _did that?" She asked incredulously.

"You bet." Aaliyah replied, winking. Hotaru narrowed her eyes at her.

"You did all that?" She demanded, her voice rising.

Aaliyah quickly glanced over her shoulder and ushered Hotaru back into Leilani's room, closing and locking the door behind her. She turned to Hotaru again and sighed, leaning against the door. She slowly sunk down until she was sitting on the floor, the door her foundation to keep from falling backwards.

"Alright, I'll be the first to admit, that probably wasn't the wisest course of action-"

"Oh, you think?"

"_But,_ I had good intentions. Hotaru, listen, I need to talk to you. I'm sorry. I didn't know about Mistress 9 or any of that. And I know, I'm a terrible Guardian. But please, be patient with me. Its hard for me. I'm not used to being depended on like this or being as close like this to someone. I…I can't do this alone. And I don't want to lose you, Hotaru. Please, don't hate me…" Aaliyah's voice trailed off as tears flowed freely down her cheeks.

Hotaru felt her heart weigh down with immense guilt. She knelt beside Aaliyah and put a hand gently on her shoulder, but the girl didn't seem to feel the presence. Her eyes were blank, tears streaming down her cheeks, her lips parted in silence. Hotaru bit her lower lip, unsure of what to say. In the few days she'd known her, she'd never seen Aaliyah so…vulnerable. It was unnerving.

"Aaliyah…Aaliyah, I could never hate you…" She murmured, and she hugged Aaliyah. She rested her chin on the younger girl's shoulder, a small sigh of relief escaping her lips, but still she said nothing.

For there was nothing to be said. Shadows danced in Aaliyah's soul, and she silently gritted her teeth, praying to every God she knew, cursing in every language in her vocabulary. The Shadows were fighting for freedom now. Snarling, roaring, rebelling. They wanted to break through. They wanted more Shadow Energy. And Hotaru was the perfect subject.

**-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-**

"Naomi, you're my friend, and I love you, but I swear to God, Kami, Sahara, Selene, Rebecca Black, Eminem, Lady Gaga, _whoever_ you praise, if you don't open this door, I'll-"

"You'll what?"

"Set that room aflame in seconds and you know I will!" Leilani threatened.

She hit her right fist against the door three times, attracting the attention from some neighbors who opened the door and peered at her suspiciously. She innocently tucked her hands behind her back and smiled at them sweetly.

"Sorry, just a loving friend looking out for another." She said kindly, and the woman smiled at her, nodding. As she closed the door Leilani turned back to the door to the Kou's room and scowled.

"Whatever!" Came Naomi's muffled voice.

Leilani bit her lower lip and put her hands on the door. She closed her eyes and concentrated, feeling the heat of her soul spread through her body and to the door.

"_Dance, mi flammis__******__" _She murmured. She watched as flames licked at her palms and transferred through the door.

"Ahhhhh! Leilani, call it off! Call if off!" Naomi shouted two moments later. Leilani smirked.

"Open the door first." She commanded. She heard an exasperated sigh.

"Yeah, good idea, Leilani. The damn flames are blocking my way! Now call them off!"

Leilani winced at the pitch of Naomi's voice…and the flaw in her plan. Perhaps she should've thought that through a bit better then she had. Her actions may not have been intelligent, but she'd had good motives.

"Fine, stay calm. But I can't come in there and control everything. Here's what you need to do, Naomi…run like hell and get to this door and open it up!" Leilani shouted.

She heard a string of curses in multiple languages, some thumps, and other miscellaneous sounds. The door was nearly yanked of its hinges as Naomi, eyes wild and full of panic, breath coming out in uneven pants, stuck her head out through the opening.

"Fine…the damn door's open…now put out the damn fire!" Naomi said angrily. Leilani rolled her eyes and pushed her aside, stepping into the room among the flames calmly.

"Hey…shh, no need to fuss…Mommy's here…shh…" Leilani murmured, caressing the flames as the licked at her skin. Naomi watched as the fires danced for Leilani, kissing her. She smiled at them tenderly as Naomi shivered.

"Do you think you could…you know, part with your _loved ones _for a while, Princess?" Naomi asked, raising an eyebrow. Leilani turned to her as though she had just remembered the other girl was there. Blinking, she nodded vaguely.

"Come now, loves, settle down…shh…sleep now, for later, your time to arise again will come…" Leilani whispered, stroking some nearby flames. Slowly, the fire died down, leaving no trace of its existence. No singed rug of burned furniture. Like the fire had never happened. Like it wasn't real. An illusion.

"Okay…now, why are you here?" Naomi asked, plopping down on the couch. Leilani sighed and sat cross legged beside her.

"Because you just stormed out of there, and I had to make sure your okay." Leilani replied simply, smiling at Naomi, who scoffed and averted her gaze.

"Well, you're here. And I'm okay. You can go now." Naomi snapped, grinding her teeth. Leilani frowned.

"You're not gonna get rid of my that easily, Naomi." She said, her voice edging onto the lines of a plea. Naomi scoffed.

"Well, what do you want?" She asked again, her voice dripping with annoyance and irritation. Leilani narrowed her eyes.

"You know, I'm am _still _your Princess, and that is no way to speak to me." Leilani reprimanded. Naomi glowered at her.

"I apologize. There, are you happy?" Naomi asked sarcastically, rolling her eyes again. Leilani tensed.

"Naomi, I know you. You keep putting up all these walls, but you know you can trust me, so please, let me in." Leilani begged, and Naomi looked away again.

A silence befell the two was Leilani continued to look at Naomi with pleading eyes, while the girl found a small crack in the wall on the other side of the room much more entertaining. Naomi sighed, letting her eyelids flutter half way shut.

"Am I that bad?" Naomi asked quietly. Leilani put a hand on her shoulder.

"Naomi, your amazing. Your beautiful, smart, humorous, fun, special…your Naomi, my friend, my sister, my Senshi, Sailor Titania, Soldier of Knowledge and Tragedy. I love you, and I wouldn't trade you for anyone in the world." Leilani replied earnestly. Noelle chuckled humorlessly.

"Then why can't Aaliyah feel the same?" She asked softly, her voice barely above a whisper. Leilani sighed.

"Aaliyah's been through…going through a lot. I know how you feel about her and all, Naomi, but I also know how Chelsea feels about her." Leilani murmured. Noelle scoffed again.

"Chelsea. She's the lucky one. She's beautiful, fun, strong…and she has Aaliyah." Naomi whispered. Leilani frowned, her brows furrowing.

"Don't you mean _had?_" She inquired, arching a brow. Naomi rolled her eyes.

"You know how they are, Leilani. Aaliyah has Chelsea wrapped around her little finger. And last time I checked, they break up and get together more times than…there's not even anything to describe it!" NAomi exclaimed angrily. Leilani chuckled.

"You're right about that…but if you remember correctly, Aaliyah _did _have a thing for you, but you were too busy denying you had any interest in girls. Chelsea realized her attraction to Aaliyah, and so began their budding relationship." Leilani reminisced. Naomi scoffed.

"Don't forget, Chelsea was into Alayna for a while there." Naomi reminded. Leilani's eyes widened.

"Is Alayna bisexual?" Leilani asked, and Naomi shrugged.

"You know how Alayna is…was. If anyone was trusted with a secret, it was her. I'm not sure if she was bi, lesbian, straight…if it wasn't for how feminine and perfect she was, I wouldn't be sure she was a female." Naomi replied, a dry chuckle in her throat. Leilani nodded agreement.

"Well…I'm glad you opened up some, Naomi." Leilani confessed. Naomi frowned.

"I have no one else to open up to. You, Aaliyah and…Chelsea are all I have left. I certainly can't confess any of this to Aaliyah, and as if I'd even try to talk about it to Chelsea." Naomi replied, rolling her eyes at the mention of the blonde. Leilani couldn't help but chuckle.

"Well, then your lucky to have as considerate a Princess as I." Leilani joked, jabbing Naomi lightly in the side with her elbow. Naomi swatted at her and giggled before laying her head on Leilani's shoulder.

"I suppose I am." She murmured. Leilani soothing ran a hand through her hair, humming a soft Thalian melody.

**-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-**

Serena was finally reaching her wits end. She'd been acting naïve this entire time, oblivious to all that had been going on around her. But she was not stupid. Queen Serenity was obviously keeping something from her. And her patience was wearing thin.

_"But can you really think it's a fair decision? She believes that's what you reincarnated her for. She at least deserves the truth." _

_"But is it right? She needs to find out on her own."_

_"She'll never be able to find out on her own if she continues to believe this lie." _

Serena couldn't help but continuosly hear the conversation between the two Queens over and over again in her mind. And every time she thought back to it, her irritation pricked. What were they keeping from her?

_"How can we not interfere? Should destiny run its course, the fate of the entire universe could be at risk." _

She was Serena Tsukino. Sailor Moon, Soldier of Love and Justice, Princess of the Moon Kingdom and future Queen of Earth god damn it! She deserved to know if there was something she could do to help keep the Earth, the _Universe _safe!

And who else to ask other than the Queen of the Heavens and Universe herself? But such a thing was impossible, seeing as said Queen had long since passed on. And there was no hope for contacting her unless the Queen contacted Serena first. The blonde girl sighed, and zoned back in on the conversation, even for just a moment. She expertly hid her unease and irritation with her normal smile and ditzy behavior, and no one seemed to suspect anything out of the ordinary.

"So, if your Serena's cousin, why have I never heard of you before?" Seiya asked Rini, whose eyes widened. Serena mentally smacked herself. She'd told Seiya she and Rini were cousins and never found a good time to tell him the truth. Apparently, now was a good a time as ever. Raye turned to her with flashing eyes.

"You mean you never told them?" She demanded. Taiki looked at her in confusion.

"Told us what?" He asked. Chelsea smiled despite her slightly disheveled appearance.

"Wow, we haven't known you guys nearly as long as the Starlights have, and we're ahead of them!" The blonde exclaimed, pumping her fist in the air. Lita narrowed her eyes at her and Chelsea just shrugged before sticking out her tongue.

"Hey Odango, what is she talking about?" Seiya asked, turning to Serena who directed her gaze to her lap. Luna bounded up to her.

"Serena, if we are all to fight this new Shadow enemy together, they should know the truth." The black cat gently reprimanded. Serena nipped on her lower lip, wringing her hands nervously. Mina gave an exasperated sigh.

"Serena, come on!" The blonde Godess of Love and Beauty urged.

"If you're not gonna tell them, we will." Lita threatened. Seiya, Yaten and Taiki stared at Serena as she took a breath.

"Rini is…my daughter." She said at last. A deep silence fell across the room.

"But…she's ten!" Yaten exclaimed. Serena looked at Yaten in confusion before widening her eyes in understanding and negatively waving her hands in front of her wildly.

"Oh, no! No! She's my future daughter, from the 30th Century of Crystal Tokyo, where I rule as Neo-Queen Serenity, Queen of Earth, with Darien, or King Endymion." Serena explained. Yaten's eyes widened in understanding and Taiki nodded. Seiya stayed silent and she couldn't help but feel guilty for telling him all of this. It just seemed wrong.

"How do you know all of this?" Taiki asked, crossing his arms over his knees.

"Because the little runt came here." Serena replied jokingly, pulling on one of Rini's Odangos. The pink haired girl smirked in turn and yanked on Serena's hair.

The action caused Serena to narrow her eyes at the younger girl and she lunged, tackling her to the ground. The two continued to roll around fighting each other, a sweat drop running down the heads of their friends.

"Are they always so…juvenile?" Kakyuu asked delicately. Amy sighed.

"Sadly, yes." The blue haired girl replied, watching her two friends and Princesses feud.

"And your sure their mother and daughter? They seem more like sisters." Taiki remarked. Mina and Lita nodded agreement.

"Get off of me, Serena!"

"You get off of me, you little brat!"

"You take that back!"

"Make me!"

Raye sighed and shook her head. All heads snapped in the direction of mad laughter and saw Aaliyah standing in the doorway to a hall that led to the bedrooms. She was laughing uncontrollably at the scene before her, and the two girls separated at the sound, their cheeks flushed a light shade of rosy pink.

"I…I'm sorry! Its just…you guys…you're hilarious!" Aaliyah said between her laughter. Hotaru simply giggled and shook her head, shrugging at the looks Kakyuu and her fellow Sol Senshi were giving her.

"It's not _my _fault. Serena _always_ starts it. She's such a ditz." Rini commented, and her future mother glared at her angrily.

"Wanna say that again, twerp?" Serena asked, preparing to lunge at Rini again. Aaliyah immediately began laughing hysterically for a second time. All eyes turned to the girl again.

"I'm sorry! It's just…you two are just so alike. I wish I had a sister I could joke around and fight with like that." Aaliyah confessed. Chelsea smiled at her.

"What, are we not good enough?" She asked, winking at her friend. At that moment, Leilani and Naomi reentered the room. Chelsea hid an evil smirk.

"Oh, your _more _than good enough, Chelsea." Aaliyah replied, giving her two friends a small waves. Chelsea smiled.

"Good, I was hoping you'd say that. Because I was thinking we could go on a date sometime soon." Chelsea admitted, winking at the girl again. She saw Naomi visibly tense and Aaliyah smiled at her blonde friend.

"Another one? I thought you said we were done for good?" Aaliyah asked, crossing her arms and sitting on the couch between Yaten and Taiki. Chelsea smiled and stood walking towards Aaliyah and kneeling before her.

"You know me, Aaliyah, I could never mean that. What do you say? We could always do a movie date, I know those are your favorites." Chelsea smiled widely and Aaliyah pretended to think about the offer.

"Well…I don't know…" She began. Chelsea exhaled a chuckle and pouted, her lower lip quivering.

"Please?" She asked desperately, laying her head on Aaliyah's leg, her temple resting on Aaliyah's knee. Aaliyah pursed her lips and continued to 'think'. After a moment, she closed her eyes and sighed dramatically.

"I'm sorry, but I must decline. Hotaru and I already made plans to hang out today." Aaliyah explained. Chelsea frowned and mock glared at Hotaru.

"You're stealing my girlfriend, Hotaru. I'm starting to feel a little jealous now." Chelsea commented. Hotaru smiled smugly.

"Too bad Chelsea, but you'll have to deal. She's mine now." The young girl joked, standing behind Aaliyah and draping her arms casually over the girls shoulders. Aaliyah, Hotaru and Chelsea all broke into wild laughter. Naomi ground her teeth together, anger and jealousy flashing in her eyes. Leilani put a comforting hand on her shoulder before turning to smile at the rest of the group.

"So, where to today?" Leilani asked, plopping down beside Seiya. She patted the floor next to her, smiling at Naomi, who smiled softly back and sat down beside her Princess.

"Well, since Hotaru just stole my movie date, how about we all head over to the mall?" Chelsea suggested. Naomi frowned.

"But that's so typical." She countered. Chelsea frowned back at her.

"Then what do _you _suggest, Naomi?" Chelsea asked, crossing her arms.

Leilani couldn't help but sigh. Chelsea and Naomi had always been pretty good friends, close, like sisters even. And they still were. But Aaliyah was apparently oblivious to the silent bitter rivalry between the two for the Shadow Princess' heart. And Leilani always had to play peacemaker. If it were not for her, only God knew how deep their conflict would run.

That's what the real meaning behind the morning fight was about. Their resentment towards one another was running deeper and deeper with each new day. But it had never yet come to violence, or at least not in their civilian forms. Sailor Comet and Sailor Titania often sparred together, and their battles would become too aggressive too fast. Pandora never understood why they fought when they did or why she was often dragged into it. She was too naïve to see the nature of their arguments. Or to see that they were constantly feuding for her attention. A love triangle that had been going on for all of two years.

Naomi narrowed her eyes. Honestly, she couldn't come up with a better way for all of the Senshi to bond. A trip to the mall was a perfect idea. It was _the _perfect idea. She only regretted that she had not been the one to suggest the idea instead of Chelsea. So she stayed silent.

"What, no ideas?" Chelsea asked.

The question may have sounded casual to the Sol Senshi, Kakyuu, the cat guardians and the Starlights, but to the Golden Angelic Senshi, or the Senshi of Thalia, more widely known as the Guardian Angel Senshi, it was filled with mockery and scorn. Aaliyah raised a brow in confusion but said nothing. Noelle and Leilani exchanged a forlorn look and a depressing sigh.

"Well, I guess its decided then! We're off to the mall!" Mina announced, going to Noelle's room, where their stuff was being kept. Lita went after her, soon followed by Amy and Raye. Raye glanced over her shoulder.

"Serena, Rini, Hotaru, you guys coming?" She asked. The three nodded before following after.

"Well, I hope you don't mind three tag alongs." Seiya said. Leilani laughed before shaking her head.

The raven haired boy winked at her before leaving, followed by Yaten, Taiki and Kakyuu. The Sol Senshi all went to Noelle's room to find their outfits, along with Aaliyah. As soon as they left, Leilani turned to Naomi and Chelsea angrily and watched as they silently glared at each other.

"What is wrong with you two?" Leilani demanded. The two girls turned to her.

"Nothing, my Princess, I'm sorry. But Naomi here is a little green, don't you think?" Chelsea asked. Naomi narrowed her eyes.

"You're not worthy of her." Naomi growled out. Chelsea glowered at the girl.

"Oh, and you think _you _are?" Chelsea sneered. Naomi turned away angrily and Leilani gave an exasperated sigh.

"Girls, please! We have all been friends for years! Chelsea, quit messing with Naomi like this. Unrequited love isn't fun. And Naomi, just wait. If Aaliyah ever decides to be with you, then it will be her choice. But fighting with Chelsea won't change how she feels." Leilani exclaimed angrily, trying to keep her voice low. Naomi and Chelsea just looked down at the floor dejectedly.

"We apologize Leilani, Princess." They murmured simultaneously. Leilani sighed.

"Girls, I love you. But don't fight like this. We are friends, sisters, Senshi. We are connected forever. This fighting for the love of one of our own is pointless." Leilani said quietly. Chelsea sighed while Naomi nodded.

"So…can we call it a truce?" Noelle asked softly.

Chelsea and Naomi slowly looked up at each other, keeping eye contact for about a moment before Chelsea reached out her hand. Naomi stared at Chelsea's pale palm for a moment, eyebrows furrowed in thought. After a moment, she hesitantly lifted her hand and slowly extended it towards Chelsea's. Every so lightly, Naomi placed her hand in Chelsea's. Chelsea wrapped her figners gingerly around Naomi's hand, gently forcing the girls fingers between their held close together palms. She squeezed Naomi's hand and gave it a small shake. Naomi unfolded her fingers and wrapped them around Chelsea's hand. The two shook hands again, but this time with more force. Chelsea smiled softly at Naomi, who's lips twitched up gently into a smile.

"Truce." Chelsea said gently, her smile widenening.

"Truce." Naomi parroted, her voice softer.

"Good, now don't we all feel better?" Leilani asked, a smile of self satisfaction on her face and hands on her hips.

Naomi gently pulled her hand from Chelsea's, her finger tips dancing gently on the other girls palm and fingers. It sent a warmth through both their bodies that both girls ignored. But before they could answer Leilani's question, the door to Noelle's bedroom opened and the Sol Senshi, and Aaliyah, piled out, outfits in hands, ready to go into the bathroom and change. Mina smiled widely.

"Did we miss anything?" The bubbly blonde asked. The four girls of Thalia exchanged a look before turning back and smiling.

"Not a thing." Noelle said casually.

"Well, we're gonna go get ready." Lita said, smiling as she turned to go into the bathroom.

"Are you guys going to split the bathrooms again?" Hotaru askede, leaning in the doorway with her arms crossed below her chest. Leilani smiled and nodded.

"When the guys and Kakyuu are done, who ever needs to will go to their room." Leilani replied, standing and stretching. She patted Rini on her head as she passed, smiling and winking at the girl before disappearing inside her own room. All was silent for a total of two seconds until Leilani screamed angrily.

"_Aaliyah!"_ She shouted. The girl in question slapped her forehead with her palm as she realized she'd forgotten to clean up the mess the Shadows had left behind. She growled angrily under her breath before stomping down the hallway and into Leilani's room. Noelle sighed.

"So, what's it like back on your home planet?" Amy asked, sitting in front of the girl. Noelle absentmindedly tucked a strand of inky black hair behind her ear.

"Not much like this, actually. Thalia is a very peaceful place. There is absolutely no pollution, and plants of thousands of colors and species grow everywhere. The rule under Queen Sahara was a peaceful one, with very little fighting or rebellions. All people on Thalia are blessed with an ability. It is rare one was born without an ability, or as we refer to them, a gift." Noelle replied, twirling a strang of the black curls around her index finger.

"Did you know anyone without a gift?" The bluenette answered, leaning backwards against the sofa. Noelle frowned for a moment.

"I did, actually. Or I suppose you could say I do. Prince Satori.` Noelle answered, avoiding Amy's gaze. The girl's blue eyes widened.

"But I thought the royalties of Thalia are blessed even more so then their people." Amy stated. Noelle sighed.

"Well, it is true. But Satori…well, the royal family of Thalia is born in a cycle. A cycle of the elements. Every member of the Royal Family with pure Thalian royal blood possess the power over an element. That's why the royal family is so powerful. When the four powers are combined, it creates something called a Spirit Element. It is so powerful, legend says that it can revive an entire army that has died. But its never happened before since not four members of the Royal Family who all possess the power of a different element have ever attempted it." Noelle clarified. Amy was fascinated with the story.

"Then…what of Satori?"

"The young prince…he was born to possess the element air, seeing as Leilani possess power of fire and her mother over water, and the mother of Queen Sahara possessed the power of Earth. Past Queen Raina. But when Satori never developed his powers, many wished to punish him for it, believing he had broken the Sacred Cycle. And if the cycle is broken…it can never be repaired." Noelle's voice became so soft, Amy had to lean forward and strain her ears to hear her new friend.

"Is the cycle broken?"

"None can say for sure. This has never happened before in all the history of Thalia. And of the Universe. But even if he has, we and the Princess will stand by the Prince." Noelle replied, her voice growing in both emotion and volume.

Before Amy could further question the pale blue eyed girl, an irritated Aaliyah left Leilani's room and collapsed on the couch. She sighed wearily, pinching the bridge of her nose with her thumb and forefinger on her left hand.

"A word of the wise: Do _not _agitate Leilani. That girl may be a Princess, but when she's pissed, she's _pissed_." Aaliyah mumbled, repeatedly hitting her head against the cushions. Naomi chuckled and Chelsea shook her head.

"Well, I left my stuff with Kakyuu and the guys, so I'll be right back." Naomi announced, winking and waving as she left. Mina saw her off with a salute and Serena waved back.

At that moment, a very calm and serene Leilani returned. Aaliyah cowered behind the couch and Leilani looked at her with gentle eyes, a warm and welcoming smile on her face.

"Aaliyah, there is no need to be afraid." She said, her voice rang like chimes. It was a harmonious sound, yet it sent shivers down Aaliyah's spine.

"What happened?" Chelsea asked, crossing her legs and digging her elbows into her knees, resting her chin at the base of her palms. Aaliyah sighed and shook her head, refusing to answer.

"Aaliyah chose that today, unleashing a small riot with her Shadows in my bedroom would be a wise idea, and which caused some slight collateral damage." Leilani answered, her smile widenening as she closed her eyes and let out a breath of relief. She sat down besides Noelle, who looked to Aaliyah.

-_She is so _pissed-

Aaliyah audibly sighed as she heard Noelle's words in her mind. She ground her teeth together, eyes closing even tighter.

_-You think I don't know that? Dear God, do you think she'll…you know…punish me?-_

Noelle glared at Aaliyah through her sidelong glance in annoyance.

_-How in all the seven hells will she punish you if we're not on Thalia? We don't have the same punishments available here. And on top of that, no Sara or Sarabi.-_

_-You know what? Don't judge me. I'm under quite a bit of stress right now.-_

Noelle was slightly shocked at the sound of Aaliyah's voice. She'd never heard the smaller girl sound so drained and tired. She was normally energetic, upbeat. Not as much as Mimi and Lili-Star had once been, but still much more lively than this Aaliyah.

_-Look, I'm sorry for snapping at you. I just feel so…I don't know, closed up. I am afraid to be to open with these Senshi.-_

Noelle apologized, and again Aaliyah sighed, this time it sounded like a laugh mingled with a muted cry. But it was filled with exhaustion.

_-Nothing to be sorry for. But why be afraid of the Senshi? I like them. They are kind, fun. I could grow used to this lifestyle.-_

It was Noelle's turn to sigh as she heard Aaliyah's mental response.

_-But…I feel as though I'm betraying Queen Raina, Queen Sahara…Thalia…everything we were taught to believe in…-_

Aaliyah frowned at the ceiling, scowling at it. Hotaru looked at the girl, wondering why she seemed so upset all of a sudden, and why she had been continuously sighing.

"Hey Aaliyah, is everything alright?" She asked, putting a hand on the girls upper arm. Aaliyah jumped at her touch and turned to her, eyes widened, lips parted silently.

"Oh, yeah…I'm okay. I just, you know, zoned back to Thalia for a minute." Aaliyah rushed, waving her hand dismissively.

"Oh, well…are you alright?" Hotaru asked softly, sitting on the edge of the chair. Aaliyah sighed. Hotaru was too kind. The Shadows would like that.

"I'm fine." She confirmed, giving Hotaru a somewhat forced smile and a smile. Hotaru narrowed her eyes at Aaliyah, certain the girl was lying, but she nodded anyway and Aaliyah turned to the new conversation Serena and Rini were striking up.

Hotaru couldn't help but feel that something was wrong. Terribly wrong. Aaliyah and her had not known each other long, but Hotaru could still feel the darkness coming from the other girl in powerful waves. But only she seemed to sense it. She'd been fine all week, but since awakening this morning, after the disturbing visit to the Corridor of Dreams and then to Thalia in the past…she'd been different. A bit more distant, guarded, saddened even. It was strange, unnerving, and made Hotaru's own heart drop. But she didn't want to question Aaliyah and make things even more tense or awkward for the girl. Yet the curiosity was eating away at her.

Aaliyah let her eyes flutter shut as she listened to the comforting voices of her friends, both old and new. It soothed her. But as soon as her eyes were closed, the darkness behind her eyelids became deeper, and hundreds of red eyes peered at her through the darkness. She glared at the Shadow creatures, and walked, the Shadows clearing a path for her.

She continued walked, hands clenched into fists at her side. As she continued through the Shadows, she saw a path form below her feet. Shadows reached out to touch her, caress her skin, dance and play with her hair. She ignored their touches and continued through the darkness, searching for one particular pair of crimson, blood red eyes.

And she soon found them, in a place of absolute blinding darkness. The red, snake like eyes peered at her, glaring at her. The figure growled, and it sounded as though all the other Shadows joined her in a loud, lingering chorus. Aaliyah ignored the sound, the ringing in her ears was like a haunting reminder of who she was, the song a harsh chorus of the darkness inside of her.

"Show yourself, Lilith." Aaliyah demanded, hunching over defensively as she faced the figure hidden by the darkness.

The red eyes narrowed even more as the figure stepped forward. The closer she came to Aaliyah, the more she came into view. Her lips were blood red and voluptuous, standing out against her dark, near coal black skin. Her snake like eyes narrowed enen more at her. Her jet black pupils glowed against the red. Her long, ebony black hair framed her face perfectly, cascading past her ankles and disappearing with the rest of the darkness. The dress she wore was raven black and strapless, hugging her body tightly like a second skin. At her waist, the dress began to hang free. It dragged across the dark floor of the Shadow corridor, the tips of the trees ending in ruffles. The dress itself was as dark as a starless night.

"You will address your mother and Queen with respect." Lilith said angrily, and Aaliyah snorted.

"I am not a Shadow and I don't have a mother." Aaliyah sneered. Lilith glowered at Aaliyah before smacking her cheek angrily. Aaliyah snapped her head in the direction of the blow and snarled before looking again at the woman.

"You sniveling little brat!" Lilith exclaimed, growling at the girl again. Aaliyah rolled her eyes.

"Haven't heard that one before, mommy dearest." Aaliyah scoffed, sarcasm dripping off of every word she said. Lilith scowled at the young girl.

"You are an ungrateful little demon! I should have let you die!" Lilith shouted. Aaliyah allowed a snarl to escape her lips.

"I wish you would have, then I wouldn't have to live everyday, knowing I am the offspring of a low life bitch like you!" Aaliyah shouted, and that was the statement needed to send Lilith over the edge.

Her nostrils flared, and her eyes widened and narrowed, her jaw setting firm. Shadow energy swirled about her, rising upwards. Aaliyah prepared herself for what she knew was sure to come. The energy grew in power and size, and Aaliyah crouched down even lower, arms crossed in an X formation over her head to shield her face. The Shadows around her screeched, their voices blending together in a high, ear piercing pitch. She ground her teeth together at the sound and squinted her eyes to see. The Shadows fell back to the bottomless darkness below them, shrieking all the way. Aaliyah lowered her arms to clenched fists at her sides and glowered at Lilith, who had grown five times in size, and Shadows danced around her, flowing through her hair and pores. Aaliyah watched, grounding her teeth together.

"You wretched little slut! I won't make the same mistake again!" Lilith shouted, raising her hands high above her head as a large ball of Shadow Energy formed in her hands. Aaliyah scowled at her before smirking wickedly.

"You can't hurt me. This is an illusion, a dream. And in my dream…," Aaliyah began, as a golden and purple aura began to flare around her. Lilith's eyes widened, and she snarled angrily. "I am Sailor Pandora, Soldier of Annihilation and Devotion. I am a friend and guardian of Princess Celestia. I am the guardian of Princess Saturn. But most importantly…I am Aaliyah Miyamoto. I am not the Shadow Princess, and you can't control me!"

As Aaliyah finished her sentence, she transformed into Sailor Pandora and the aura around her flared even more, before launching itself at the Shadow Queen. Lilith screamed in agony as the light seemed to eat apart her skin, ripping her flesh from bone and reducing her to nothingness.

"Aaliyah, please, wake up!"

Hotaru's voice made Aaliyah open her eyes, where she saw the young girl, Rini, Leilani, Noelle, Chelsea, Serena, Amy, Mina, Lita and Raye all crowded around her, staring at her with anxious eyes. Aaliyah blinked rapidly for a moment, remembering the dream. She didn't want to forget it. She didn't want to forget watching her own mother being destroyed by her own hands. She didn't want to forget the satisfaction at her deed. She didn't want to forget the power she'd felt coursing through her veins.

Her breath was labored and beads of sweat ran down her forehead, as if the dream had actually happened. Her body felt weak and drained, and her power felt low. And she herself felt unusually weary. If it had not been for the fact she was still in Leilani's apartment, she would have believed she honestly had defeated her mother.

"Aaliyah, what happened in there?" Leilani asked.

But Aaliyah ignored her question and looked to Noelle. Even though her inner fear reflected in her eyes, the look on her face was indifferent. A memory of the dream passed before her eyes. And for the first time, she noticed wide, pale blue eyes watching her, and fair skin glowing out amongst the darkness.

Aaliyah mentally slapped herself at the fact she hadn't noticed Noelle's presence in her dreams earlier. Of course the girl had been watching. Noelle always wandered into dreams when she felt she needed to, when she felt dark happenings. And a battle with the Queen of Shadows was certain to emit enough dark energy to alert the girl.

That was when Aaliyah noticed Leilani and the others, save Noelle, were looking at her anxiously, waiting for an answer. Aaliyah awkwardly cleared her throat.

"It was just…I had a headache, and I closed my eyes, and it was just a nightmare. Sorry to worry you." Aaliyah said softly, turning away. No one seemed to buy her story.

"That was no normal nightmare. You started _glowing_. And there was darkness here, but before we can do anything, you absorbed it. _On your own_." Raye replied, a hint of anger in her voice. Aaliyah felt her heart skip a beat.

She was absorbing Shadows in her sleep. She didn't care about her aura glowing, she knew why that had happened. But what she didn't know was how, or why, she had absorbed Shadow Energy. She didn't want it. But now that she was awake, she could feel the darkness coursing through her bloodstream, feeding her. Worry…anxiety…fear…they set her throat aflame for more. She felt her hunger for Shadow Energy grow.

"Aaliyah! Aaliyah, don't do this again!" Hotaru exclaimed, and Aaliyah's eyes opened wide. She hadn't even realized she was sinking back into the same unconscious daze she'd been in before. She blinked at the young girl who worried so much for her welfare, and smiled.

"I won't, Hotaru. I was just feeling…a little weak." Aaliyah said. It was true, she did feel weak. But she felt the Shadow Energy inside of her slowly returning her power. As wonderful as the feeling coursing through her body was, she hated herself desperately. Feeding off of the energy of her friends was wrong, no matter the circumstances.

"Well, can we help you someway?" Serena asked, leaning towards the girl. Aaliyah shook her head and sat up, grunting softly in pain at the action. Hotaru gently rested a hand on her shoulder and Aaliyah placed her own hand over Hotaru's.

"No, I'm fine now." Aaliyah assured, nodding.

"You're sure your alright?" Leilani inquired, and Aaliyah nodded again, adding a soft hum with her answer. Leilani furrowed her brow but nodded, accepting Aaliyah's response.

The room fell silent as everyone thought over the recent events.

Noelle was worried. The strange happenings in the Corridor of Dream Mirrors were bizarre enough, but Aaliyah's trip to the Realm of Shadows just added on to the list of peculiar events. What was next? A UFO invasion? She wouldn't be surprised.

Leilani was nervous. Her mother was lying to her, even from beyond the grave. Her best friend was weakening and refused to tell anyone anything about it. And she couldn't help the strange sense of foreboding inside of her soul. Somehow she knew, the worst of all this turmoil was yet to come.

Serena was aggravated. So much had happened in the last two weeks. First, Leilani and Noelle had arrived from their destroyed planet, pleading for their help to fight the Shadows. Then they'd learned about their new enemy. Then three more Senshi from Thalia arrived, and if things couldn't get weirder, one of the Senshi was the Princess of the Shadows. And the supposed Shadow minion, Adriana. The worst of all, their most recent strange trip to the dream world. Everything was beginning to spiral out of their control far too fast, and she didn't like it. If they didn't stop it now, the Universe as they know it could be destroyed.

**-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-**

_Shatter._

Naomi winced as she heard a mirror shatter and rolled her eyes. A moment before she'd heard a loud confrontation between Seiya and Yaten, where an irritated Taiki had tried to calm them both down to no avail. Without even looking, she could guess Yaten had gotten so livid that he'd thrown his hairbrush at Seiya, who effectively dodged, and instead shattered the glass of a mirror.

Sighing, she layed her stuff down on her bed and walked out into the hall. Sure enough, there was a slightly distressed Kakyuu on the couch, rubbing her temples. Taiki sat beside her, pinching the bridge of his nose between his thumb and his forefinger. An angry Yaten shouted at a bored looking Seiya while pointing wildly at a pile of shards of broken glass and a hairbrush. Naomi rolled her eyes again and walked up to the two boys hands on her hips.

"Attention!" She shouted, eyes closed.

Taiki and Kakyuu winced at the volume of her voice while Seiya and Yaten stood up straight, chins high and shoulders squared, chests puffed out. Naomi narrowed her eyes at them and pouted slightly.

"At ease, men!" She yelled.

Both Seiya and Yaten both exhaled deeply, standing in more relaxed positions. Naomi glared and looked towards the shattered shards and hairbrush. She turned back to the two boys and glared at them.

"Now, I am disappointed with your actions today! For payment, you will both be paying for the mirror…and one thing for _every_ Senshi going with us today. Hope you've still got money from your first time as the Three Light's." Naomi said, glaring at the two as she paced before them.

She stopped and stood before them both, looking first at Seiya, then Yaten, then back again.

"Do I make myself clear?" Naomi asked.

"Yes, ma'am…" They both mumbled soflty. Naomi huffed.

"_Do I make myself clear?"_ She asked again, shouting. Kakyuu and Taiki exchanged a look of pain. No other sound could make eardrums bleed like the sound of Naomi screaming.

"Sir, yes sir!" They both replied loudly, saluting to her before mock marching away. Naomi smiled in self satisfaction.

"How do you do that?" Taiki asked, watching the two walk away. Naomi's smile widened.

"Years on Thalia with those people teach you a few things." Naomi replied, winking at them. Taiki couldn't help but slightly shutter at that statement. Kakyuu smiled half heartedly, giving an awkward and nervous chuckle.

Naomi sighed as she turned away from them and her shoulders drooped, arms hanging limply at her sides. Absentmindedly, she placed her left hand on her right shoulder while twisting her right arm in a circle. She repeated the action with her other arm then stepped out onto the balcony, looking up at the newly risen Sun and sighing to herself as she thought back to a time long ago. A time two years ago when Aaliyah was always desperate for her attention, not Chelsea's. Back before she accepted she had any attraction to girls. Back before she realized her feelings for the lively Soldier of Aanihilation and Devotion. It all seemed so long ago to her, and yet those memories were probably the ones she held closest to her heart.

She jumped when she rest softly on her shoulder and she turned around. It was only Seiya, and she breathed a small breath of relief seeing it was the raven haired boy. She gave him a small smile before turning back to the Sun.

"You know, if you look at that for too long, you'll go blind." He advised.

Naomi simply scoffed and shrugged her shhoulders nonchalantly. If her eyesight could survive staring at the Divine Palace for hours on end, certainly it could also survive staring at the Sun for a bit.

"You seem a bit down. Problem?" He asked, leaning beside her, eyes turned intently to her. Naomi sighed and bit her lower lip to stop a smile from forming. Seiya was her favorite of these guys, he always seemed extremely dependable to her. She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and shrugged again.

"Unrequited love sucks, you know?" She replied softly, and this time it was her that heard Seiya scoff. He turned to stare at the Sun as well and she turned her gaze to him.

"Don't I know it." He agreed. She narrowed her eyes for a moment.

"But you won't pursue your love?" She asked quietly. Seiya still did not look at her but she saw his jaw tighten and his shoulder tense ever so slightly. Queen Sahara had always told her and Aaliyah that. They were good at seeing small things like this.

"No. Her boyfriend is back, and she's happy, and that's all I ask." Seiya replied softly. Naomi felt her anger spike and she narrowed her eyes.

"Sher mor!" She exclaimed in Thalian, pushing away from the railing of the balcony. Seiya looked at her in confusion.

"Um…sher mor?" He asked, but Naomi ignored him.

"If you cared about Serena's happiness, you would take her away from Darien! Hell, if you cared about her safety, you'd take her from Darien!" She said loudly in a hiss like voice. Seiya pushed himself up from the railing as well.

"Her safety? Is Darien doing something to her?" He asked. Naomi could hear the anger and worry in his voice but she stood firm and nodded.

"Leilani and Noelle have told me everything I need to know. Darien, or rather Endymion, is the brother to the very Prince of Shadows, ruler of the Realm of Shadows, Prince Damien. If the Shadows keep attacking…they'll realize him to be a brother of their ruler and turn him against us." Naomi explained, and Seiya's eyes widened a bit in shock.

"Then your saying Darien's going to go evil soon and go to the Shadows?"

"Not exactly. The Shadows will begin corrupting his soul now. Who knows, they may already have started. They'll promise him his deepest desires, everything he could ever want, and in exchange for it all, he'll foolishly sell his soul to them. Literally selling his soul to the devil."

"Then…how do you know this?"

"Simple. I'm in love with the Princess of Shadows, and I've been friends with her forever. I know a few things on how these Shadows work." Naomi replied, winking with her hands on her hips.

"You are in love with Aaliyah?" He asked. Naomi was beginning to get impatient again, but she knew she had to stay calm. Breathe in. Breathe out. Breathe in…

"Yes, I am. Couldn't you tell?" She replied jokingly.

But Seiya seemed to ignore her answer as her turned and leaned over the railing again, his knuckles turning white from the hard grip he had. Naomi couldn't help but feel sorry for him, she knew how painful unrequited love could be. Especially when that person was already in a relationship. She walked over to him and gently rested her hand on his shoulder, offering silent support while Seiya processed all the information going through his hand. She gave his shoulder a little squeeze as she thought again about the girls conversation last night, a mischievous smirk on her features.

'_Oh, Leilani is going to be pleased to hear this…'_

**-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-**

_Knock. Knock. Knock._

"I'll get it!" Noelle announced, walking over to the door. Serena walked over with her to see who it was.

Noelle stretched up to look in the peep hole, but frowned in disappointment a second later. She was a bit too short to see. She was only half a head shorter then Serena, but she stood aside anyway to let the girl see through. Something she did with ease.

Noelle watched as Serena's expression turned to one of excitement, then to confusion, then nervousness. Noelle had a suddenly bad feeling of opening up the door. Serena turned to her for approval and before she could mouth the names, Noelle nodded. Serena tightened her jaw and nodded, opening the door.

"Good morning, Kitten." A familiar voice said. Serena smiled as Amara, Michelle, and Trista walked inside.

"Dear God, how many more people can this apartment fit?" Chelsea asked, looking around at the already cramped space. Aaliyah giggled and Leilani rolled her eyes before turning back to her new guests.

"Hello Amara, Michelle, Trista. I trust you all slept well?" She asked. She wanted to hear what they thought the dream meant. Amara and Michelle sat down at chair around the table while Trista closed the door behind her.

"Well enough, Leilani. Is everyone alright?" Trista asked, surveying the room. No one seemed injured, except Aaliyah who looked exceptionally weak.

"We're all fine, save Aaliyah who seems to be feeling quite faint today." Leilani replied, gesturing to the girl still laying on the couch, who raised her right hand with her middle and pointer fingers and gave them a little wave.

"How are you feeling? Do you need anything?" Michelle asked, moving to kneel beside the couch and put the back of her hand on Aaliyah's forehead. She felt cool. Very cool.

"I'm fine now. Just a little winded. I'll be good for today." Aaliyah assured, gently placing her hand over Michelle's pulling the aqua haired girl's hand from her forehead and place it in Michelle's lap. She smiled at Michelle, who gave her a small smile back.

"Speaking of which, Kitten, what exactly are your plans for today?" Amara asked as Michlle returned to her seat beside the tall blonde.

"We're just going to the mall with everyone." Serena replied, shrugging.

"Mind if we tag along then?" The sandy blonde asked. Serena shook her head.

"It'll be a joy to be able to get to know you three a bit more." Leilani said, smiling. Noelle nodded agreement and Aaliyah held a thumbs up.

"Then I guess its settled." Trista gave a small smile as she looked at Aaliyah and Hotaru. Chelsea smiled eagerly and exchanged a high five with Lita. Rini smiled as she tenderly petted Diana.

Serena felt all of her previous irritation with Queen Serenity disappear in an instant. This was great, all of her friends, old and new, going out for a day to all hang out together. Sure, it would be crowded with nineteen people going, and two cats, but it would be worth it. They needed to bond, like Sahara had told her, or else they could never move on. They'd never be able to fight the Shadows, something they couldn't do without each other.

Besides, she liked the Guardian Angel Senshi of Thalia. Especially Leilani. She was fun to be with when she wasn't being cold because of Serena's relationship with Darien. And last night had showed her just how powerful the Divine Princess could actually be. It was kind of frightening, yet exciting, to have a friend like that. She was dependable, even when she decided to turn a cold shoulder towards them. Serena felt almost…safe with her. Like she knew for certain that no matter how angry Leilani was at her, the Princess of Thalia would never totally hate her or leave her in harms way.

It was a reassuring thought.

Noelle thought otherwise. Something wasn't right. Aaliyah trip to the Realm of Shadows…the dream last night…Even Sahara and Serenity seemed off. Something seriously bad would be happening today. She could feel it in the pit of her soul, as if the aura of the day itself had darkened right before her eyes. She just hoped her friends would be ready to handle whatever darkness awaited them, or the whole fate of the Universe would be at stake.

**-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-**

**Layla: Hope the chapter was worth the wait!**

**Aqua: Lots of thanks to…**

**Seiyalovesodango09**

**TristeWilds, and**

**Anime Princess for reviewing!**

**Kelsey: Lots of love to all you readers!**

**Emma: Know how you can be awesome? Hit that blue button. The one that says 'Review this Chapter'. Yes, hit that. Type nice words. Review. Then we'll update soon and you'll be awesome!**

**Jazz: What she said! Thanks for reading and reviewing! Double thanks if you review this chapter! R&R, guys!**


	9. Saving Kristen

_Sailor Moon: The Shadows Arc_

_Chapter 8: Saving Kristen_

_Disclaimer: Haven't owned it for seven chapters and an intro, don't own it now._

_-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-_

_*= My Shadows, give me power…_

_**= My divine light, give me power…_

_***=Return our souls_

_****=Darkness and Shadows…_

_*****=Divine Light…_

_******=Power of the Stars…_

**-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-**

_Jazz: Thanks to all you lovely reviewers!_

_Kelsey: Thanks, and you should review this chapter too!_

_Aqua: And those who didn't review should review this chapter!_

_Emma: Thanks for reviewing, don't own, blah blah blah…we're done up here!_

_Layla: Hey, what about-_

_Emma: Enjoy the chapter!_

**-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-**

"Are you ready yet?" Malcolm called. Kristen rolled her eyes as she stared at her reflection in the mirror.

"No! I forgot with our interview, and I'm not going to forget again! I'm not Tamara anymore and I plan to show it!" She yelled back, and she slowly put a blue colored contact in her right eye. She heard Malcolm scoff.

"If you didn't want the chance someone could recognize you, you should've died or cut your hair!" He shouted back.

Kristen stifled a laugh as she placed her other contact in her other eye and brushed down her hair. She took two small, fake fangs and delicately placed them over her canine teeth. She smiled at her reflection. Taking an eye brow pencil, she skillfully drew a small mole under her left eye. She thought about Malcolm's answer. She couldn't die her hair or cut it. No matter what. It made her who she was.

"I'll be done in a minute! We're only staking out for Shadows, their not that hard to find you know!" She shouted back, and Malcolm laughed out loud downstairs. She smiled and shook her head.

"Still, don't want to be out with the rush!" He replied, and she rolled her eyes again, giggling. She turned to the mirror and cleared her throat.

"Nice to meet you." She said to her reflection in a thick Australian accent.

Sure, it wasn't special, and kind of stereotypical, but it wasn't how she sounded, which was what made it all the better. She'd always liked the Australian accent. Something about it just seemed so interesting. She smiled widely, revealing once again those small, sharp, fake fangs. They looked so natural it almost scared her. Her outfit was definitely off from her true self. She preferred warm colors like red, orange and yellow, but her shirt was a deep indigo, her skinny jeans skin tight and jet black. She pulled her black heels from the counter top and slipped them onto her feet. They had to be at least three feet high, but it was worth not being recognized. She pulled on a lacy black beret on her head and used it to hide some of her long flowing red locks, making her hair appear shorter than it really was. Grabbing her black purse, she made her way hurriedly down the stairs and met Malcolm with a smile at the front door.

"Hey, you look great." Malcolm commented, tucking a strand of red hair behind his sister's ear and avoiding a small silver stud, knowing she still preferred golden hoops to the small diamonds.

"Don't I always?" She asked, smiling wildly and letting her false fangs show. Malcolm shrugged.

"I don't see what your problem is. I just put in green contacts and fake fangs and I'm good." He said, running a hand through his short hair as they walked down the sidewalk.

"_And _you cut your hair. Remember? It used to go down to your shoulder blades." Kristen pointed out, using her hand to mess up the boy's hair. He immediately swatted her hand away and moved to fix it.

"That was a long time ago. Besides, don't you agree I'm sexier this way?" He asked, smirking down flirtatiously at her. Kristen rolled her eyes.

"Sorry Malcolm, I'm not into incest." She taunted, winking and running forward to Malcolm's black Kia Sorento. Malcolm shook his head and walked around to the driver's seat and unlocking the door. Kristen eagerly jumped in and Malcolm slid into his seat, fastening his seatbelt.

"Whatever. You know…I think I like you as a Kristen more than a Tamara." He commented. Kristen smiled.

"I agree. I like Tamara, but I think Kristen suits me more." She agreed. Malcolm smiled sadly at her as she pushed the key into the ignition.

"But even if your Tamara or Kristen, you're still my little sister." Malcolm assured, and Kristen smiled back at him as he pulled out of their driveway.

"And you're a better Malcolm than an Aidan." She replied, and Malcolm nodded agreement.

"So, your vision this morning was about the mall?" He asked after a few moments of silence. Kristen nodded.

"That's right. I'm not sure what, but something serious is going to go down at the mall today." Kristen answered, staring out the window at passing buildings. Seeing her reflection pass, she just didn't feel like the Kristen, or the Tamara, she knew.

"And it looks like Sailor Super Nova and Guardian of Flames Phoenix are needed once again after so long, eh?" Malcolm asked jokingly, and Kristen sighed and nodded.

She wasn't sure why she was so upset. Since coming here, she'd had a normal enough life. Despite the guilt that always tugged at the strings of her heart. She, as Sailor Super Nova, had faked her own death three years ago. She'd had to. It was the only was she'd be certain she could go to earth to search for her brother without being pursued. She had taken off in a fight against a threat to their beloved planet, and had won the battle and driven the evil away, only to lose her own life. And the story was very much so believed. She was famous on Thalia. A hero, a legend. And for what? Defeating an evil that had never existed and abandoning the planet and people she'd known all her life just to be with her brother once again.

Just thinking about it made her go light headed, and nausea built up inside of her. She was a liar. A dirty traitor. Her brother had been banished from Thalia. He had an excuse. She on the other hand had left of her own accord and in doing so, she'd forsaken her planet and hadn't even jumped to rescue it as it was engulfed by Shadows. She was no Senshi. She was a coward.

"You're thinking about that again, aren't you?" Malcolm asked quietly as he slowed to a stop at a red light. Kristen felt her throat choke up. He knew her well.

"Of course I am. Malcolm, how can I be a Senshi to our Princess if I left her…the Queen…all of Thalia…if I left them to die?" She whispered. Malcolm frowned and put his hand over hers and turned back to the road as the light changed back to green.

"I know its hard to accept, Kristen, but even if you had been there…Thalia wouldn't have been saved. There was nothing you could have done." He murmured silently. Kristen felt her anger increase rapidly.

"I may not have saved the whole planet but I could have saved someone! You saw the dream, only Celestia, Eclipse, Comet, Titania and Pandora survived! I could have saved Phobos! Deimos! Black Hole! Hydra! Himalia! Thalassa! I could have saved _anyone_, but no, I was a coward, I deserted them!" She snapped, tears streaming down her cheeks as she roughly snatched her hand away from him. Malcolm remained calm, knowing her anger was not directed at him, rather at her actions and as a result of her holding her grief inside for so long without a proper release.

"We can't wonder about the 'what if's', Kristen, we have to face what happened and focus on the present and the future. I know you want to change how things played out, I want to as well, but we can't. We have to fight to avenge our people." Malcolm stated calmly, and he watched as Kristen angrily wipe away at her tears.

They had arrived at the parking lot of the mall, where Malcolm was currently backing into a vacant space besides a small budding tree. Kristen hurriedly unbuckled her seat belt and angrily pushed open the door and ran outside, jogging across the lot. Malcolm hurriedly followed after her and watched as she reached into her pocket and grabbed a small, blue object before furiously throwing it at a close tree. At the sound of impact, she continued on to the mall entrance, gaining speed. Malcolm jogged towards the fallen object and picked it up, holding it gingerly in his palm.

It was made of a sky blue crystal. It was shaped like a five pointed star, each of its tips dipped an amethyst purple. It was cold and smooth like a stone. Malcolm tightened it in his fist before standing and running after his sister and into the mall. He looked around, but there was no trace of the familiar head of wine red hair. He growled lowly to himself and ran into a dark corner behind a false palm tree that shaded him from view and closed his eyes, expanding his own inner being throughout the mall. He could feel his soul floating everywhere in the building at once. Then he pinpointed it.

The other red soul in this mall.

He ran to where it was coming from, a dark, secluded, cut off hall at full speed, dodging children, couples and families, apologizing for his rude rush. He never slowed down, relying on the strength he possessed as a Guardian, something he didn't do much unless it was necessary.

Turning a corner, Malcolm was met by a large hall, obviously meant to hold at least ten stores, five on either side. The lights in the hall were off, and Malcolm could practically feel the darkness there verses the warmth of the lights and other people behind him. It was crossed off by police tape and a not to tall gate to keep out the unwanted. A look of determination crossed his face as Malcolm climbed up the gates. Apparently, no one thought a person would try and climb the gate.

And for good reason too.

As his hand touched the top of the gate, Malcolm felt something he hadn't seen before. Spikes. Digging into his flesh. He grunted against the slight pain and continued upward before jumping over the top of the gate and landing perfectly on his feet with his knees bent on the other side. He felt the warm, sticky red liquid seep from the cuts in his palm and down his hand, but he ignored the feeling, knowing the skin would heal itself. The blood ran onto the crystal still clutched in his mostly closed fist and the jewel seemed to absorb the red liquid. He heard soft sobs and continued on light feet towards the sound. Even in the darkness, he could see his sister's shining red hair. He knelt before her quietly.

Kristen didn't seem to notice his presence. Her knees were up to her chest, her arms crossed over them. She had her face buried in her arms and tears rolled down her pants legs.

Malcolm hesitantly took his right hand and ran it through her hair. No streaks of blood were left behind. She looked up at him with sad eyes while he inspected his palms. There was no trace of the cuts ever being there. He grabbed Kristen's elbows and pulled them apart. Quickly taking her right hand in his, he examined her palm. Blood still flowed freely from her open wound.

He narrowed his eyes at her palm in though, lower lip sticking out ever so slightly. Then, he realized something. He took the Super Nova Crystal in her hand and curled her fingers around the jewel. He took her left hand and placed it over her right, and both watched as a dim blue light glowed between the holes between her fingers. As the glowing died down, Kristen opened her hands and gasped. The cuts were gone.

"It heals…" She murmured. Apparently even she had no idea of this power. She continued looking at the jewel in astonishment, when a look of pure rage and guilt crossed her face. She chucked the crystal away from her and turned in the opposite direction, her nose in the air. Malcolm sighed as he went to grab the crystal again and brought it back to her, presenting it to Kristen in his palm as though it were a jewel of immense value. And actually, it was.

"Kristen, please. You can't give up being Sailor Super Nova. It is your destiny-"

"Destiny? Destiny? I don't deserve a destiny so great! I'm not meant to have it. Find another who is meant to be Sailor Super Nova, I am not fit to." Kristen snapped angrily, and Malcolm felt his own peace hit its limit.

"That's it! I'm damn tired of you doing this, Kristen! You _are _Sailor Super Nova! Surely some of us make mistakes, but that is no reason to keep moping around like a depressed dog. Wake up and smell the coffee, no one could stop what happened to Thalia! Maybe we were meant not to be in that battle, I don't know, but we weren't and we can't change that now! The best thing we _can_ do is continue fighting the Shadows to uphold our duty and protect the Cosmos!" Malcolm hissed angrily, and he watched as Kristen's eyes widened and tears glistened in her eyes.

Kristen had done some rebellious things in the last few years, not nearly as bad as many of the things she did on Thalia, but still out of the ordinary for the usually calm and intelligent girl. But no matter what she'd done, Malcolm had never snapped at her. He'd never been angry enough to let his anger show. It was honestly frightening for her to see her brother, who she gave up everything for, be so harsh with her. It was something so new.

Actually, as they sat together in the darkness of the closed hall, Kristen realized she had never seen Malcolm lose his temper. He was always the calm and composed one who kept everyone else from panicking when things started to look bad. That was one of the reasons he was so liked. Girls on Thalia had once swooned over him for his slim muscular build and his authority and power-

Wait, what? Malcolm had been banished by the courts when they were two…right? But…wasn't there a battle…?

Kristen suddenly felt a hammering pain in her skull and keeled over. What was this? She grinded her teeth together, palms holding her head as her nails sunk into her beret and hair. Malcolm kneeled beside her, hands on her shoulders, begging her to tell him what was wrong.

And that was the last thing she heard before the world went black.

**-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-**

"How about that one?" Chelsea asked as she pointed out the window to a silver vehicle across the street. Leilani shrugged and Noelle smacked her palm against her forehead.

"I thought we agreed, guys, clean slate this time." Noelle reminded. Leilani turned to her and shook her head, hands on her hips.

"You suggested, and we said if its not necessary. But it _is _necessary. Amara's car can fit all nineteen of us." Leilani argued, and Noelle groaned, mumbling something in the language of Thalia as she walked away. Mina couldn't help but giggle a bit.

"What're you guys looking for anyway?" Hotaru asked, standing near the window behind Aaliyah who was kneeling on the floor. The girl turned back to her and smiled.

"Car. To steal." She replied, winking. Rini chuckled nervously.

"You're joking…right?" She asked, and Chelsea shook her head.

"No way, we used to do this all the time on Thalia!" The blonde answered, smiling excitedly as she scouted the streets.

"That's not illegal on Thalia?" Mina asked, standing beside Leilani who laughed. Chelsea and Aaliyah joined her.

"Of course it is!" Leilani laughed, a wide smile on her face. Lita looked at her with wide eyes.

"Didn't you get in trouble for that?" She asked, crossing her arms. Leilani winked at her.

"Princess and her Senshi don't go to jail. Sure, we got arrested and went in, but once they realized who we were, we were let out. My mom would get on our case, but hey, after being cooped up in a palace for a while, a girl could really use a quick night of crime." Leilani smiled as she answered, turning away from the mirror and playing with the curtains. Amy rose a brow.

"You were forced to stay in the palace?" The blue haired Mercurian asked, and Aaliyah shook her head.

"Not in the palace, but on palace grounds." She answered simply, shrugging.

"And you should've seen Leilani. No Princess has ever snuck out as many times as she has." Chelsea taunted, winking again.

"And no Princess has gotten arrested as many times either." Leilani pointed out, making a check with her thumb and index finger. Aaliyah stifled a laugh but to no avail.

After a few more moments of bickering, mostly between a returned Noelle and Leilani, they finally made the final arrangements for transportation. Serena, Amy, Michelle, Mina and Rini would ride with Amara, while Lita, Hotaru, Raye, Chelsea and Aaliyah rode with Trista. Naomi came over to tell them that Kakyuu and herself would ride with Taiki, Yaten and Seiya, but Leilani and Noelle decided to teleport to the mall. Luna and Diana were going to stay behind. The three vehicles took off while Noelle and Leilani hid in an alleyway and transformed.

"_Golden Teleport!"_ They shouted out, and both disappeared in quick flashes of golden and pale blue light.

Sailor Celestia and Sailor Eclipse appeared in flashes on the roof of the mall. They exchanged glances as they looked down into the lot.

"Their not here yet." Eclipse pointed out. Celestia rolled her eyes and scoffed.

"Yes, because they would have driven here in the same amount of time it took us to teleport!" She snapped sarcastically. Eclipse narrowed her eyes at Celestia as her lower lipped puckered out, quivering.

"You're mean lately, you know." She accused in a hurt voice. Celestia snorted but ignored her as she de-transformed. Eclipse followed her example.

"Whatever." Leilani shrugged as she walked towards the back of the mall. She looked down to make sure no one was around and jumped off the roof, doing a mid air back flip and landing on her feet on a red Mazda below. She leaped off of the roof of the car and landed easily on the lot on her right foot and left knee. Noelle jumped off the roof after her and landed on a deep blue car a few spaces over. She slid off of the car and walked to the sidewalk with Leilani.

"It feels different having to hide our Senshi forms, doesn't it?" Noelle asked. Leilani nodded absentmindedly as she stuck her hands in the pockets of her navy blue shorts that ended in her mid thighs. Her shirt was spaghetti strapped and tie dye that stopped just at her waist.

Noelle's shorts were even shorter than Leilani's, her top baby pink with bedazzled Hawaiian flowers stretching from her right strap across her body down to the lower left part of her shirt where multiple ones gathered together.

The two girls hid in the entry way of the mall, relishing in the cool of the shade as they waited for their friends. About ten moments later, Amara's car arrived and parked towards the back on the lot. As the group walked towards the already waiting two girls, Taiki and his group arrived. Lastly, Trista and her crowd finally parked and also came to join them.

When all nineteen of them stood in the entryway, effectively blocking anyone's way of getting in, they entered the mall. Aaliyah's eyes widened and a large smile was plastered on her face. Naomi looked calm but her eyes showed she was bubbling with just as much excitement as Aaliyah.

"So, what should we do first?" Lita asked, standing a couple of feet behind Leilani, who turned around.

"Are you…asking…me?" She asked slowly. Lita looked surprised herself but she nodded slowly.

"I mean…I think I am…" The tall brunette answered hesitantly. She hadn't meant to ask the question out loud, and she wasn't sure what compelled her to say it to Leilani.

"Well, why don't we all just walk around for a while?" Serena suggested. Leilani smiled widely at the blonde in an instant.

"Sure, we can figure out what to do after that." Leilani added, and Serena nodded.

"Mall crawl!" Aaliyah squealed excitedly. Running ahead. Hotaru called for her to wait up before jogging to catch up with the girl. Noelle pounded a fist to her skull.

"Is she always like that?" Seiya asked, watching the girl disappear.

"Not always. But when she is, trust me, it's a wild ride." Chelsea replied as she stood directly behind the two.

The group seemed to form lines of people. Well, they mostly did anyway. Aaliyah and Hotaru were still walking extremely fast a couple of feet in front of them, under close guard not to run off. Rini decided to walk with the two eager young girls and the trio huddled close together and whispered something no one else could hear. The front of the group consisted of Noelle, Leilani, Serena, Seiya, Mina and Raye. The second row was Naomi, Chelsea, Lita, and Kakyuu. Yaten, Taiki and Amy walked behind them, and the very tail of the group were Amara, Michelle, and Trista.

Abruptly, Naomi stopped in place and smiled widely. Everyone looked at her strangely.

"Something wrong, Naomi?" Amy asked, tilting her head slightly. Naomi's smile widened and she shook her head.

"I just thought now might be a nice time to announce that anyone may want to get anything they want, because Seiya and Yaten are paying for it." Naomi answered, winking. The two boys sighed as they remembered their experience and punishment earlier that morning.

"All of us?" Mina asked eagerly. A little _too _eagerly.

"All of us. Each have to buy us one thing each. And by all, I mean all." Naomi finished the sentence, gesturing to the three older woman at the back of the group. Amara arched a brow with a strange smile on her face but said nothing. Seiya and Yaten exchanged a slightly worried glance.

"Anyways, where should we go first?" Raye asked, turning to Mina, who frowned a bit in thought.

"Food court?" Serena suggested.

"Music store!" Leilani exclaimed.

"Book store." Noelle tried.

"Sports shop?" Chelsea asked. They all continued throwing out suggestions at random.

"Aaliyah!" Naomi called. Aaliyah and her company turned around to look at the other group impatiently. Naomi gestured for them to come over and Aaliyah sighed in defeat, following her friend's silent orders. Hotaru and Rini followed after her, and they all stood before Naomi, waiting to see why the girl had interrupted their fun, even if it had been immature and perhaps slightly eccentric.

"How about we just divide everyone up to where they want to go?" Hotaru suggested. Aaliyah smiled and ruffled up the young girl's short black hair and nodded agreement.

"Okay, who wants to come with me to the music store?" Leilani asked. Mina, Raye, Aaliyah, and Hotaru raised their hands.

"Book store?" Noelle asked. Taiki and Amy stood beside her and she smiled at the blue haired girl.

"Food court?" Serena asked, her voice edging onto the sounds of a plea. Rini, Naomi, Kakyuu and Seiya chose to join her.

"Anyone up for the sports store?" Chelsea asked. Lita and Yaten chose to go with her.

"What about you guys?" Aaliyah asked, turning to Amara, Michelle, and Trista, who insisted they'd walk around a bit and catch up with them later. Aaliyah shrugged but followed as Raye and Mina led the way to the music store, and all of the groups so parted ways.

"So, what kind of music do you guys like on Thalia?" Raye asked, looking back at Leilani, who shrugged.

"Music like what you have here. But I personally like pop the most. Rap is just near outlawed in Thalia, none of us really appreciate it." Leilani replied.

"Why?" Mina turned and walked backwards so she could face the girls.

"So many rap songs we hear from Earth are degrading in someway. Whether it is in language or anything like that. And on Thalia, we all hold high respect for each other in every way." Aaliyah answered, walking to Leilani's left.

"Oh wow. Are you guys really…sacred on Thalia?" Raye slowed so she walked on the other side of Leilani, who shrugged.

"Not really sacred, but we are the Golden Planet of the Heavens." Leilani pointed out. Raye nodded and Mina shrugged, turning back to face forward again just as a piercing scream echoed through the air.

"What was that?" Hotaru asked, already reaching towards her transformation wand.

"Not sure, but there's one way to find out. Come on, follow me!" Aaliyah directed as she ran into a bathroom. The others followed her. Leilani and Aaliyah checked all of the stalls and stood at the door to make sure no one entered and nodded. Hotaru, Raye and Mina all held their transformation wands high. Leilani raised their jewel. Aaliyah took a small, smooth circular stone that was black as coal with a single, faint red light in the center and held it up.

"_Mars Crystal Power!"_

"_Venus Crystal Power!"_

"_Saturn Crystal Power!"_

"_Pandora Angelic Power!"_

"_Celestial Divine Power!"_

The five Senshi dashed from the bathroom and ran towards the scream, ignoring the patrons they passed and who stared after them with wide eyes.

**-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-**

Kristen looked at her surroundings. One of the most clear things that stood out to her was that she was on a golden planet. _The _Golden Planet. Thalia. Tears glistened in her eyes as she looked around her old home, and deeply buried memories resurfaced. She couldn't help the smile that came to her face as she turned towards the famous Divine Palace and saw Princess Celestia herself, sitting with Noelle, Aaliyah, Chelsea, Naomi, and a black haired girl with clear eyes known as Raven listened intently as a group of five girls as they played music.

One girl had pure white hair that flowed to her shoulder blades. Her piercing, yet soft, amber green eyes fluttered shut as she strummed melodiously on a large, golden harp. Her fingers danced gently across the strings, never lingering for more than a second. Her fair skin almost looked to absorb the sunlight, her skin smooth and flawless, pink lips parted ever so slightly. Another girl sat at a large, white piano rimmed with gold. Her hair was a deep green, two odangos atop her head, and from them were two curled strands of hair. Her crimson red eyes also slowly closed as she played the notes flawlessly. She sway slightly in her seat, green hair dancing behind her. Her dark olive brown skin seemed to glow when compared to the piano.

Leaning on the piano were two girls. One had long, bright pink hair divided into two even pigtails on either side of her head that ended just at her knees. Strands of her hair was twisted similarly to that of the girl playing the piano. Her aqua green eyes were downcast as she blew gently into her flute. Beside her stood a girl who looked extremely much so like her except for some obvious differences. For one, her hair was a bright shade of blue. The other difference was that her eyes were a bright pink. Both blew softly into their flutes, contributing to the melody. Both of the twins had fair skin. The final girl had dark caramel skin and electric blue hair that traveled down to her mid back. Two hearts shaped odangos sat on her crown with the same twirled strands as the other three girls. She stood before all of the group, singing a soft melody in a foreign language. It even sounded angelic. The girl playing the harp sang softly with her. The music was so harmonious, so beatific, Kristen felt her heart become overwhelmed.

The music slowed to a stop, and Celestia jumped up, clapping her hands eagerly.

"Nevaeh, you sing so beautifully! And Alayna, you play the harp so magically! Justine, Mimi, Lili-Star…you were all just great!" The Princess praised, hugging each girl in turn. Lili-Star, the blue haired girl, giggled as she hugged her Princess. Her twin, Mimi, nudged her in the ribs with her elbow.

"But _someone _here was flat!" Mimi accused, and Lili-Star narrowed her eyes playfully and pushed Mimi.

"You bet you were!" Lili-Star replied, and Mimi looked ready to lunge at her sister.

"Girls, girls, I think we can all agree you were both flat!" The green haired pianist, Justine, joked.

"I could've played piano better." Lili-Star taunted.

"And you were off key." Nevaeh, the blue haired singer pointed out. Justine jokingly turned up her nose at her friend and gave her a blank glare.

"Oh please, Nevaeh, anyone can sing like a rapid squirrel. But only someone as amazing as I am can play piano that beautifully." Justine answered, holding a hand daintily to her chest. Nevaeh scowled at her, before using her own hip to push Justine's. The two girls broke out into wide smiles.

"Okay, how about we all agree we all did terribly in comparison to Alayna?" Mimi asked. Lili-Star nodded agreement and Nevaeh and Justine shouted a 'Hear hear!'. Alayna blushed slightly before turning away from them and giving the harp one last strum.

"You all did suck, right Raven?" Aaliyah asked, turning to the black haired girl, and her nearly clear eyes revealed nothing as she gave an absentminded nod.

"Would you like to take a walk to the cherry blossom fields, Princess?" Alayna asked, turning to Celestia, who nodded and followed her. The others followed as well, abandoning their instruments, in full trust no one would disturb their valuable treasures. Kirsten felt tears roll slowly down her cheeks watching the fond memory, wishing she'd been a part of it.

Then, the scene changed. The laughing, fun loving girls walking across the lush green grass and beautiful various flowers was gone.

Now, the ground was marred and burned, no trace of any vegetation life. The trees were shriveled and dead, their dry and crumpled leaves littering across the rough and rocky terrain. Fires still blazed, taking up any remains of life. The murky brown ground was dampened with freshly spilled blood, and Kristen's throat choked up as her eyes followed the trails of blood and located the sources.

Neveah's amber eyes stared blankly at the sky, blood dribbling down her lip. Her left arm was twisted at an awkward angle and her right leg was folded under her body. Justine's mattered green hair was spattered with blood and dirt, her clothes torn and her arms covered with scratches and bruises. Raven's jet black hair was matted and dyed red with blood. One of her clear eyes were closed, the other open and bruised. Much of her hair was ripped from her skull, and strewn across her body. A large gapping hole was set inside her stomach, marks cut across her cheeks. Alayna's pure white hair was stained red with her own blood and brown with mud and dirt. Her green-amber eyes faced the sky as well. Her clothes were torn away except for a thin piece of cloth that covered her most private area. Nail and scratch marks marred across the skin of her inner thigh and above her bare breasts. Blood flowed freely from open wounds in her neck and stomach. Mimi and Lili-Star's bodies laid atop one another's, their hair cascading freely down their backs. Lili-Star's blue eyes were glazed over while Mimi's eyes were closed. Both were topless with blood flowing from their breasts and pooling around them.

Noelle's ebony black hair was torn and scattered abut her lifeless body, which was leaning against Mimi and Lili-Star in a cruel joke as though she were simply using them to lounge. Her own top was split down the center and her legs were spread wide open. Blood pooled from the area between her thighs and some ran down her neckline, flowing over her abdomen. Chelsea and Naomi stood back to back leaning against a tree. Their hair was wrapped tightly around high branches, and blood dripped from in between their legs. Chelsea's neck was bent awkwardly while Naomi's face was covered in blood from the cuts of a blade. Aaliyah's lip was busted, the only thing covering her naked body were her long black locks. A cut traveled from her collar down to right in her pelvic area. The skin had been peeled open, revealing her inner organs. Or what was left of them. Even through the substantial amount of blood, Kristen could see that Aaliyah's right lung had been removed along with her heart. She felt deeply sickened by what she saw. And yet the most gruesome sight was the body of Princess Celestia herself.

The Princess's wide, glazed, brown eyes stared back at Kristen in a silent final plea for help. Her hair was also tied in a sharp knot around the branches of a tree. But that was just it. Her head. At the trunk of the massive tree was her bare chest. Or rather, her left breast. The right was a few inches away from it. Celestia's right hand clung to the breast mockingly. Her left hand sat on the branch her head was tied to. Her lower body, below where her belly button should have been, sat on a branch above the hanging head, its legs dangled over the side in a cruel joke as if the Princess herself sat there. Her legs were opened wide. Blood oozed from her exposed vagina and dripped onto the hair and head. About ten feet to the left lay Celestia's abdomen. Etched onto her flesh was the Celestial sun, blood still flowing from the wound. A derision of the beautiful young Princess.

The nausea inside of Kristen was too much. She vomited on the spot. She fell to her knees, tears flowing from her eyes as more vomit erupted from her mouth and onto the already revolting scene. She clutched her own abdomen and pain and tried to shake her head to rid herself of the voices of screaming agony she heard echoing inside her mind. It was them. Celestia, Noelle, all of them. Their pain, she felt it wrenching in her heart. It was too much. She screamed out with them, and she felt her own body being wretched apart from the inside out. She shouted, and her body plopped onto the ground, landing in her own vomit. She writhed on the ground, thrashing her head back and forward. Her limbs flailed around her wildly as blood and vomit continued flowing through her lips and over her body and face. Her disgust meant nothing in comparison to the pain and sickness she now felt madly building up inside of her.

"Kristen!"

Her eyes snapped open and she looked into Malcolm's false green eyes. She felt so weak, her throat dry and rasping. She'd never felt so drained in her life. She looked to Malcolm, trying to tell him of her horrifying vision, but only incoherent sounds formed. Her voice sounded low and dull. Malcolm frowned. His sister had blacked out, and after a time of just laying there, she started thrashing around and throwing up all over herself. Then the screaming. The ear piercing shrieks that left her lips were probably the strangest thing happening to her. Because Kristen hadn't been the one screaming. It was many other voices screaming with her, through her. Their pain was in Kristen, and Malcolm was terrified. What could this mean?

"Kristen, come on Kris, stay awake…" He begged.

Her eyes were wild and crazed, her eyes darting back and forth. Her nostrils flared and the color drained from her face. She looked paler than a sheet. Her hair appeared disheveled, and her red eyes dimmed. Malcolm grew worried. Kristen looked as though her life energy itself was being sucked from her very soul. Malcolm saw as his own tears fell onto her face, and despite the vomit on her body, her held her close. He was the Guardian of Flames, Guardian Phoenix. But he couldn't do anything to save his own sister.

"Please, Tamara…I can't lose you…" He whispered. Life had never been harder for him after his banishment. Kristen was all he had. She gave up everything for him. Her life on Thalia. Her place as one of the Princess's Senshi. Herself. And he couldn't return the favor for her when she needed it most.

Then he felt it. A strong power. A light essence. It was a warm feeling that wrapped around his body. Hands roamed over his skin, and a gentle kiss was pressed onto his forehead. Malcolm froze. What was this ghostly touch? It was so foreign, and yet so familiar.

"_Aidan…"_ A voice murmured. Malcolm's eyes widened. It was Queen Sahara. Her warmth, her soul was there with them, and then, it was gone in a cold flash.

"This way!" A voice shouted. Malcolm looked up and watched as five Senshi ran down the hall towards them, heels clicking on the marble floor. They stopped before them and his eyes widened. Malcolm recognized two of the Senshi as Sailor Pandora and Sailor Celestia, of his own Golden Planet of Thalia. His Princess. His mouth opened but he was unsure of what to say. Celestia looked at him with narrowed eyes for a moment but then disregarded his existence for Kristen.

"Oh my God, what's wrong with her?" Venus asked, kneeling beside her. Mars sat beside the girl, and both gently tried to take the girl from him but Malcolm tightened his grip around Kristen. He didn't know these Senshi, could they be-

Malcolm's thoughts ended abruptly when he felt a ringing pain in his skull. Then the world went black.

"Was that necessary?" Mars asked, looking up at Pandora, holding a flower pot in her hand. The girl shrugged before putting the pot back onto the floor and kicking it away.

"I don't think it was necessary for him to watch any of this." Pandora replied, kneeling beside the unconscious body of the young boy and dragging his limp body into a corner.

"What're we supposed to do to help her?" Venus asked, smoothing out Kristen's wild hair. She seemed to be floating in a sea of the fiery red locks. Both her orange skirt and Mars's red skirt were stained by Kristen's vomit, but they both ignored it.

"Move over." Celestia ordered, kneeling beside Mars, who scooted over some to make room for her. Pandora rushed over and knelt across from Celestia.

"What are you going to do?" Saturn asked, kneeling beside Pandora. The girl sighed.

"Celestia and I need to enter her mind and free her from there." Pandora explained. She looked up at Celestia, who nodded with a determined look on her face.

Celestia held her hand out and Pandora took a deep breath. She lifted her hand and held it hovering over Celestia's gloved hand, a strange feeling flowing through her. Slowly, she lowered her hand as her fingers curled together. Her finger tips danced across Celestia's gloved palm and moved their way to her wrists. Hesitantly, she let the rest of her hand lower until she felt Celestia wrap her hand around her own wrist. A certain power surged through Pandora's body, beginning where her hand and Celestia's meeting. A certain tingle, and it sent shivers through her body. She looked into Celestia's warm brown eyes and felt confidence surge through her.

Gradually, they both lifted their opposite gloved hands and let the tips of their three middle fingers touch Kristen's head, forming a lopsided circle.

"_Tia Madyrn, koli ti vyrdaes …*" _Pandora murmured, as a strange sign appeared on her forehead. It was a jet black diamond with a red rim and a smaller red diamond inside of it. The red parts of the mark began to shimmer and glow. Her hair began to float upwards, dancing with a wind that seemed to only affect her.

"_Tia Pololi Jhol, koli ti vyrdaes …**" _The familiar symbol of the Celestial Sun appeared on Sailor Celestia's own forehead as she softly whispered the words. Her long ebony locks also danced upwards in the wind.

A red light engulfed Pandora while a golden light engulfed Celestia. The light flowed through their bodies and to the tips of their fingers, igniting Kristen's fair skin as well. Her body glowed as red and golden auras flared around her. The long fiery red waves of hair around her began to move and dance across the floor, and in a quick flash of light, Celestia and Pandora were gone.

"What happened to them?" Mars asked, looking at Venus and Saturn, who shrugged. Saturn tightened her grip on her Silence Glaive and turned towards the opening to the hall that seemed so far away. No one seemed to have noticed the strange happenings in the dark hall.

"I'm not sure what happened, but whatever it is, we can only trust Celestia and Pandora. Put faith in them, and hope that they will be successful in their mission." Sailor Saturn said, facing the hall of quickly moving people, guarding the scene behind her.

Venus and Mars nodded before turning back to Kristen's comatose body, and watched as the bright light of the red and golden aura dimmed before disappearing and her hair fell back into place limply. Mars narrowed her eyes in thought. Sailor Celestia and Sailor Pandora seemed to know what they were doing. A little too well.

'_Could they be responsible for this?'_

**-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-**

Celestia and Pandora released each other as they looked about their surroundings. They were in a barren waste field of sorts. There was no sign of life for miles. What they presumed to once have been full and thriving trees were now barely shrubs and piles of decaying sticks in the dirt. What was supposed to have once been lush grass was now dried and brown blades littering across the dirt mixed with dead leaves and withering flowers and their fallen petals.

"What is this place?" Celestia asked, her gaze to the blackened sky.

"I'm not sure, but I do feel a lot of Shadow Energy, here. Be on your guard, Princess." Pandora advised, stepping close to her friend. Celestia nodded but made no objections. She hated being fussed over like a…like a…like a princess. But it was their duties, something she couldn't exactly blame them for.

They continued on, on guard, keeping careful watch of every movement around them. The whole area seemed to have a strange aura of darkness, something that made the hair on Celestia's neck stand on end. Her grip tightened on her glaive so she could feel the cool of the metal seeping into her palm. Pandora's hands clenched into fists at her side, feeling her nails piercing her own flesh. She could practically taste her mothers evil essence in the air. The air reeked of the Shadow Queen's tainted power and soul.

'_Lilith…what're you up to now?'_

An ear piercing shriek caught their attention. Both Senshi exchanged a look before nodding and running towards the source of the sound. Celestia led, Pandora right at her heels. Both ran at a steady and very fast pace until they reached a clearing. Celestia did a double take as a new stench reached them. The air was so full of Shadow Energy it was suffocating, and the Princess of Thalia had to cough for breath. Celestia narrowed her eyes through the dark fog to try and find Kristen. Pandora, on the other hand, had grown so accustomed to it, seeing as controlling such power was in her blood, that it seemed to have no effect on her. She plunged into the dark miasma, her eyes set on a figure laying in the ground and convulsing. Unsure of any other options, Celestia followed as best she could through the obscured mist.

Celestia found herself face to back with Pandora, who had stopped in her tracks. She prepared to scold her Senshi for her carelessness when she saw the object of Pandora's attention and felt her own stomach churn, her voice crack and her eyes water.

There lay Kristen. Her body was convulsing madly, as if dancing to some bizarre rhythm. Her arms and legs kicked and flailed wildly around her. She laid a rapidly growing pool of her own vomit and blood. Vomit still flowed from her lips, down her cheeks, chin, neck and chest and pooled around her on the ground. Blood oozed from wounds on her neck, abdomen, and limbs. Her head thrashed about wildly on both sides. Her eyes were wide and coal black, her lips a pale blue. Her fiery red locks were disheveled and matted with dirt, blood and vomit. Her left arm, despite is wild and jerky movements, was bent at an awkward angle, leaving them to believe it was broken. Her back arched and fell with a hard thud back onto the rough Earth. Over and over. Celestia could swear she heard a bone or two crunch, leading her to believe Kristen had already broken a few ribs and fractured her spine. Her shrieks were interrupted as she began to choke and gurgle. Celestia felt bile rise to her throat as Kristen's mouth opened wide and she saw the problem. The girl was beginning to try to swallow her tongue.

"What do we do?" Celestia asked, her voice hoarse. She'd seen a lot of strange things in her life, but nothing this revolting or sympathetic. Kristen, in the part of her mind that was left sane and untouched, probably wished for nothing more than the blissful peace of death at that moment.

And it was so true.

But Pandora did not answer. She was lost in her own thoughts.

"Lilith has done some bad things. I mean, a lot of messed up shit. But I've never seen her make someone suffer like this." She said at last. Celestia did not reply, because it sounded as though Pandora was mainly talking to herself.

And she meant it. She'd seen her mother destroy, kill, steal. But she'd never seen another being suffer the way Kristen was suffering now. It was unfair, for her mother to involve innocents like this. Her heart felt weighted with guilt and sadness. She'd only just met Kristen as her 'brother's' manager, and already misfortune befell the poor girl. Her anger and hatred for her mother grew right then.

'_Lilith, I'll get you for this. No matter what it takes.'_ And with those final thoughts, Pandora disappeared into a quick cloud of darkness.

**-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-**

Voices. So many. But I don't hear them. I feel them, inside of me. Building on the pain.

Oh, the pain. The blinding, overwhelming pain. It was too much. Why couldn't it just end.

"_Kristen…_'

That's my name. Me. Who is it? Why do you call out to me?

The voice, this one stands out from all the others. It's so familiar. A male voice. An image flashed across my mind. Red hair. Red eyes. A cocky smile. A name. Malcolm.

Malcolm, my brother. Malcolm, Flame Guardian Phoenix. The musician. The banished one. My brother. I wanted to touch him. Ask for his help. Beg for his protection. But I couldn't. I couldn't form words, or feel anything but the pain. But I wanted him so bad. My brother Malcolm.

"_Poor Kristen…"_

I don't know that voice. Do I? It sounds like a woman. But I don't know her. I'm certain of that. 'Who are you?' I want to ask, but my lips do not open. No sound comes out.

"_I am the almighty Queen Lilith, and I can save you from this darkness." _The voice answers. It heard me. She heard me, without even speaking, she heard me. But how?

What do you want with me?

"_I will save you from this pain…" _The voice murmured. I narrowed my eyes, feeling my heart rate speed up and my irritation reach a new peak. Whoever this was not outside or around me. They were in my head. They heard and felt my thoughts. I wanted her to feel my pain.

How can you possibly save me? Go away, leave me to die!

"_Do not be afraid. Take my hand, I can take away the pain. I can take you back to Malcolm."_

I froze. Malcolm. He needs me, just like I need him. I can't just abandon him for death. I'd never forgive myself if something happened to him and I wasn't there to help.

Before me, a hand materialized. It was formed from absolute darkness, and shadows seemed to orbit around it. I reached out to touch her, but my hand felt like it weighed a ton. It took all of the strength I still possessed to lift my hand. Her hand extended even more to me, and mine to hers.

"_Stop!"_

I weakly turn my head in the other direction, away from the hand which snatches back almost immediately. As if my aura burned her.

A figure approached through the darkness. Slowly, the being came more and more into focus. Knee length ebony hair swayed with each step as she came closer. Her glowing amethyst eyes and golden tiara were the only streams of light in the darkness. Her movements were swift and with meaning, yet also graceful. She was Senshi, evident by her flowing red skirt and fuku. She stood tall and proud as she stopped a few feet from my body, her hands clenched into tight fists at her side.

"Let her go, Lilith." The Senshi demanded. She was not facing me, rather the darkness where the hand had appeared. I couldn't make out a figure in the darkness other than the Senshi by her bright colors.

"Princess Sorcha, how nice to see you join us." The Shadow commented. That voice again. Only it wasn't just a voice anymore.

Slowly, the figure began to take shape. It was a busty woman wearing tight black dress, dark as a starless night. Her hair flowed past her thigh, so jet black I couldn't see any individual strands, just waves of darkness. Her eyes were a deep crimson red, her lips voluptuous and bloody scarlet. Her skin was not dark or light, in the middle of both.

"That's not my name." The Senshi, Sorcha, growled. Lilith chuckled.

"Of course it's not. What is that name you've given yourself? Aaliyah?" She asked, taunting the girl. Sorcha/Aaliyah scowled.

"To you, its Sailor Pandora." The Senshi scowled, narrowing her eyes at the woman. Queen Lilith simply laughed.

"Honestly, you think you can defeat me alone?" Lilith sneered, red eyes inspecting the young Senshi, who glanced fearfully at me but turned back to the Queen with a fierce determination in her eyes.

"I'll defeat you no matter what the cost." Pandora replied. And with that, she charged.

She ran at the dark Queen, a ball of black energy in her right hand. She raised her arm and jumped into the air, charging at Lilith, who smiled smugly. Just as it seemed Pandora was about to make impact, a wall of darkness separated her from her target. But she didn't have time to change course.

She collided with the wall head on and screamed in agony as the darkness traveled through her body and lit her blood aflame. After a moment, the wall released her and she fell back to the ground with a hard, sickening thud, which caused her a grunt of pain. She struggled to her feet and faced her mother again, breath labored as she held her side in pain. Her glared at Lilith, who just smiled back.

"Aw, did the poor little baby get a bruise?" The dark Queen taunted, laughing maniacally. Pandora glowered at her and yelled out a battle cry before attacking again.

This time, she stayed on the ground until she was directly in front of Lilith, able to touch her. She leaped into the air and twisted, skyrocketing downwards with her fist outstretched. Lilith just smirked as the same dark wall appeared.

The dark wall absorbed Pandora for a moment and she screamed out again as the darkness held her fast, sending the burning pain throughout her body and infecting her bloodstream. Her bloodcurdling scream rang in my ears and my hands immediately rushed to try and block out the sound, but to no affect. The screams still rang in my mind, bouncing around in my skull and thudding in my head. Her body was wrenched, her limbs outstretched and her head thrown back, eyes shut tight and her mouth open wide.

Then, it stopped. The dark wall fell and Sailor Pandora fell back to the ground with a sickening thud, and I was certain I heard a crack or two. The only sound was Pandora ragged breathing and I turned back, watching her. I felt warm tears roll down my cheeks. Why do I cry? Do I know this girl? I feel as though I do. But I don't remember.

Slowly, Pandora struggled to her knees, kneeling over as she gasped for air. Then, with a grunt of pain, she rose to her feet and stumbled before finding a balance. She held on to her body in pain and continued on. Lilith narrowed her eyes.

"Why rise? Why fight for this girl?" Lilith demanded, growling at Pandora while she slowly made her way closer to the woman. She smiled through her pain, faltering a bit but still standing.

"Because I will fight…for anyone to…save their soul from your…Shadows…" Pandora huffed out through harsh breaths. Lilith narrowed her eyes and raised a hand and gesturing upwards from the floor to Pandora. From the ground, several Shadows shot forth and attacked the girl, who screamed wildly. Lilith's Shadows kept her suspended in the air, and Pandora's shrieks continued on until finally, Lilith called back her Shadows and Pandora fell to the ground limply, unconscious.

This was too much.

Before my mind could completely process what was going on, I was on my feet and glaring at Lilith, who had her back to me. I looked to my right hand to see a star crystal. My star crystal. I held it high above my head.

"_Super Nova Angelic Power!" _

**-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-**

**No longer Kristen's POV**

In a large flash of coloring lights, Kristen disappeared. She spread her arms wide and began to spin as white gloves that reached her fore arms appeared on her hands. A white, strapless fuku appeared on her body. Crossing her arms over her chest, she jumped into the air and dove back down quickly, headfirst. A skirt materialized around her waist. It was a bright shade of sky blue with a ruffled, purple, transparent skirt below it. Her heels were bright blue with purple bands wrapped around her ankles. The shoulder pads did not attach themselves to anything and simply wrapped around her shoulders. Her front and back bows were purple, a blue star on the center of the front one. Her baby blue choker and star earrings appeared, a small purple star on her choker. She didn't have a collar. A golden tiara formed on her forehead, a blue star in the center. Finally, three white beads placed themselves in her bangs. Sailor Super Nova ended posed with her arms crossed in an X over her chest and her ankles crossed. Her fingers were up and she smiled wickedly, moving her arms down in a slashing motion and separating her legs.

"Able to destroy all that is beautiful in this world and cherish it, I am the Soldier of Radiance and Detonation. I am Sailor Super Nova, annihilating both darkness and light with the cycle of the stars. Star Action!"

Lilith turned from Pandora's unmoving body and hissed at Sailor Super Nova, eyes narrowed.

"Hmm. I should have known you were a Senshi." Lilith sneered. She gestured her arm in a slashing motion at the Soldier, who simply leaped in the air to avoid the attack. She flipped mid air and landed a few feet from the dark Queen.

"Too bad you didn't. I have awakened, and I will not lose. Pulsing Star Annihilator!" She shouted. A light formed in between her hands, and she spun three times with the color changing light before stopping and holding it high above her head, the light floating above her palms. She closed her eyes as she spun again and the light grew. She opened her eyes and lower her hands to her right side, still holding the light. She spun once more and as she turned to face Lilith again, she unleashed the attack, seeming to throw it at the Dark Queen. Lilith cowered. She didn't have enough time to call upon her Shadows to defend her and she turned away from the attack.

Then came the spine-chilling shriek. Lilith turned back to see Pandora absorbing the attack that was meant for her. Her eyes widened and her jaw dropped. Super Nova's blood froze as chills flowed through her body. The green and red Senshi was taking the powerful strike head first. As the attack faded away, Pandora's amethyst eyes rolled back in her head and her body fell head first back to the dark ground. Her body landed with a _thump _and she laid limp for a few moments. Lilith couldn't help the dull pain in her heart at that moment. Her knees lost their support and she fell down beside the girl and knelt at her side.

"Why did you do that?" She demanded angrily. Pandora turned her head to her weakly to look towards Lilith and chuckled half-heartedly.

"Because…if anyone will be killing you…its gonna be me." She managed weakly between coughs.

With those words, Shadows appeared around Pandora's limp body and flowed into her, giving her power. Dark power. A black aura appeared around her and Pandora slowly rose to her feet. She stood and faced Lilith, an evil smirk on her face.

"Don't worry, I'll kill you soon enough." Pandora promised. She walked over to Sailor Super Nova and stared her in the eyes.

"Kristen?" She asked quietly. Super Nova's eyes flashed for a second in recognition, and she squinted her eyes as she looked into Pandora's eyes.

"Aaliyah?" She whispered softly. Pandora nodded, her throat choking up. Super Nova's jaw dropped and she stared at Pandora with wide eyes before wrapping her in a tight embrace.

"Oh my God. I never thought I or anyone would see you again!" Pandora exclaimed, tears running down her cheeks. Super Nova's own tears stained Pandora's fuku and collar.

Lilith stared on at the scene in silence, before turning away. She'd have her moment to fight her daughter. But now was obviously not the time. She walked into the darkness until her body was totally engulfed in Shadows and she disappeared from sight.

"Tamara…you're alive!" Pandora squealed crying. Super Nova shook her head.

"No, Tamara…died. I'm Kristen." Super Nova explained, releasing her friend and holding her shoulders firmly. Pandora looked at her with shocked eyes before smiling.

"And I'm Aaliyah. It's great to meet you…again." She joked, and both girls giggled. Super Nova's eyes suddenly darkened.

"Please, where is Celestia?" She asked seriously, looking deeply into Pandora's purple eyes. Pandora couldn't help a smile.

"Who do you think is holding your unconscious body right now?" She teased, and Super Nova's eyes widened.

"You're serious? Our Princess?" The red head asked, her red eyes wide. Pandora nodded eagerly. Super Nova's mouth opened in a wide O. Pandora pulled Super Nova into another hug and closed her eyes.

"You ready to go back?" She asked, amethyst eyes turning to the fiery red mass. Super Nova stiffened.

"Let me tell the Princess in my own way." She insisted. Pandora tensed but nodded, before closing her eyes and letting she Shadow aura surround them both.

"_Vaeres os myr…***" _They both whispered. The darkness around them continued to blacken until their vision was obscured and they suffocated on Shadow Energy. The world flashed around as if they were spinning and a wind whipped wildly around them.

Then as quickly as it began, it vanished.

Pandora flickered opened her eyes to find herself back in the lost woods with Celestia, sitting patiently beside her body. Celestia's eyes were closed, her hands joined together in front of her as if she were praying. Her lips moved quickly, murmuring words so softly that Pandora could not hear here. A golden aura flared around the young heavenly Princess, making her long ebony locks dance around her. Celestia didn't seem to notice her friend was awake.

"Princess…" Pandora murmured. Her head was swimming and she felt weak, but Celestia's praying wasn't helping. She groaned as the felt the power of her Princess' spirit. It was too bright. A beautiful shine like that more than likely held a powerful Shadow Energy. And it was too tempting. Celestia's eyes opened and she muttered a soft apology.

'Are you alright? I…I didn't mean to tempt you like that." Celestia said softly. Pandora couldn't help but chuckle as she sat herself upright.

"I'm fine. Don't worry about it, right now, what we need to do is get home." Pandora answered, wincing. Home. Earth was beginning to feel to familiar. It was growing on all of them. But it wasn't their home. They had a mission to complete, and then that would be it.

_But what about Hotaru?_

Shaking her head to clear her mind of such thoughts, Pandora turned to her Princess and help out a hand. Celestia smiled and placed her palm over Pandora's, giving her Senshi's hand a soft squeeze to reassure her.

"_Pasaer eil Madyrn…****" _The Soldier of Annihilation and Devotion murmured. A dark aura flared around her as she closed her eyes. Celestia also closed her eyes, a small smile creeping to her lips.

"_Pololi Jhol…*****_" The Princess and Soldier of Harmony and Light whispered. Her own golden aura danced around her, black and gold clashing in a blinding fit of light. Then, the light died, and Celestia opened her eyes.

She was in the hall again. Mars and Venus looked at her with wide eyes, standing above her.

"What was that?" Mars asked, looking at Celestia and inspecting her over as if this couldn't be the same girl she'd met no more than a few weeks ago. Celestia looked at her strangely before noticing a figure behind the two Inner Guardian Sol Senshi.

It was another Senshi. One who was more familiar with long, fiery red hair that seemed to move on its own accord. Her piercing red eyes were familiar and gentle. She smiled softly at Celesta, who unstably rose to her feet and stepped towards the red headed girl. The weakness she'd felt in that Shadow forest had vanished. The blue skirted Senshi smiled.

"Princess…" She murmured. She immediately bowed on her knees before the girl, eyes closed and head bent. Her red hair traced the hard marble floor as tears slowly rolled down her cheeks and onto her knees and skirt.

Celestia fell to her knees before the girl, her voice seeming lost. She gently reached out and grasped the Senshi's chin and forced her to meet her eyes. Red clashed with brown.

"Tamara?" Celestia asked softly. Super Nova smiled weakly and shook her head.

"It's Kristen." She replied, her voice hoarse. Celestia couldn't help but wrap her arms around the girl and pull her close. Tears flowed freely from her eyes as she hugged her.

"My dear Super Nova…I thought…I thought we'd lost you." Celestia confessed, burying her face in Super Nova's shoulder. The red haired Senshi soothed her Princess, running a hand through her hair.

"Emotional as ever, aren't you, Princess?" Super Nova chuckled. Celestia couldn't help but smile and giggle herself. She'd always been sort of emotional.

"Is everyone ignoring me?" Pandora asked, rising and hobbling towards Mars and Venus. Saturn turned and ran towards her.

"Pandora…what happened to you?" The young Senshi asked, looking as Pandora leaned heavily on Venus, Mars flanking her other side to help stable her. Pandora smiled weakly.

"Trip to the Shadow Realm, fighting the Shadow Queen, nothing new." She explained, wincing in pain throughout her teasing smile. Saturn narrowed her eyes.

"Lay her down." She ordered the two Senshi supported Pandora, who did as told.

Pandora opened her mouth to object but Saturn silenced her with a look before holding a hand over Pandora's injured abdomen, a purple light emitting from her hands. She closed her eyes as she stretched the light to Pandora's injured body. The older Senshi allowed herself to be engulfed in the light and felt Hotaru's power heal her body. The light was warm and welcoming. But once the warmth was gone, her eyes shot open and amethyst clashed with amethyst. Pandora smiled.

"Thank you, Saturn." She said softly, sitting up. Saturn nodded.

"No problem." She replied, standing and extended a hand to her friend, who allowed herself to be pulled up by the younger Senshi. Celestia and Super Nova were still wrapped in a tight embrace.

"Please, don't ever leave again." Celestia whispered into Super Nova's wild red hair that cascaded over the marble tile floor, meeting with Celestia's own ebony locks, making a wave of black and red that clashed perfectly.

"Wouldn't dream of it, Princess." Super Nova chuckled.

**-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-**

"So, what genres do you enjoy?" Taiki asked, looking over a shelf of books with Noelle, who shrugged. Amy sat in a chair not far from them, nose buried deep inside yet another book. A small pile of three more sat at her feet.

"Mostly…historical fiction, science fiction, thrillers and mysteries." The pale blue eyed girl replied. Taiki nodded, and the two continued on about book genres and which would be better for what setting or time.

Amy continued reading on, vaguely aware of the conversation going on before her. The book was called Fallen by Lauren Kate, and so far, only at page 58, it was actually very interesting.

Then, she was conscious of a person behind her. But she refused to turn. They'd probably just go away. But they didn't. That became evident when the person peeked over Amy's shoulder, their chin on her collarbone. Amy literally jumped, and turned her face, where her blue eyes met the dark green eyes of a girl with long, pink pigtails. She wore a sun hat, which was strange to Amy, seeing as they were indoors.

"I'm sorry! I just wanted to see what you were reading. Please forgive me." The pink haired girl rushed out, and Amy couldn't help but smile.

"It's all right. My name's Amy, and you?" Amy asked, putting a blue bookmark decorated with dolphins into the book to mark her page. She held out her hand to the girl, who gave her a small smile.

"Anna. Nice to meet you." Anna replied, shaking the other girl's hand. Amy smiled at her.

"And you." Amy answered, holding the book out to the girl. Anna looked at the book strangely than back up into Amy's blue eyes.

"You'd…let me hold it? You trust me?" Anna asked incredulously. Amy looked at her strangely.

"Well, yes." Amy admitted, shrugging. Anna blinked. She'd never received such small acts of kindness. Or at least not that she could remember.

"Hey, Amy-" Noelle began, turning to the blue haired girl. Upon seeing Amy talking with Anna, Noelle dropped the novel in her hand, mouth open and eyes wide. Taiki looked at her strangely.

"Are you all right?" Taiki asked, following her gaze to Amy and Anna. But nothing seemed out of place with them. If nothing else, they seemed to be getting along quite well. Then what was the problem?

Noelle leaned on Taiki for support, using her strength she had to try and steady herself. There was a throbbing pain in her head, trying to block her memories of this girl. She tried to steer past the pain and remember who this girl was.

"A-Anna…?" Noelle asked silently, her voice barely above a whisper. But despite the difference, Anna heard her. Green clashed with pale blue as the look towards each other. Anna took a step back while Taiki and Amy exchanged a puzzled look. Anna awkwardly cleared her throat.

"Noelle." She replied evenly. Noelle seemed to snap out of her trance at the sound of her own name and she rushed over to stand at Amy's side.

"Leave, now. You are not welcome here." Noelle snapped angrily, an eerie tone to her voice. She wasn't even sure where this new strange wave of emotions was coming from. She just had a deep set feeling that Amy wasn't safe right now. None of them were with Anna around. Anna winced as though she'd been slapped by Noelle's words. The gaze she sent Noelle was filled with sadness.

"You know I can't do that." She answered softly, lowering her gaze. Noelle glowered at her, reaching into her pocket.

"Then you give me no choice." Noelle said through clenched teeth, clutching her darkened moon and sun jewel in a tight fist. Anna narrowed her eyes.

"No, Noelle. It is you who gives me no other options." Anna raised her hand high, a black orb of light in her hand. It continued to grow, covering her, Amy, Noelle, and Taiki. And in a final flash of light, they vanished.

But no one else seemed to notice.

**-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-**

"This is so good!" Serena exclaimed, taking a bite into her food. Rini glared.

"Well don't hog it all!" The small girl objected, trying to take Serena's plate. Serena yanked it back.

"No way, brat! Buy your own!" Serena shouted back, as Rini lunged at her. Naomi sighed and Seiya laughed awkwardly. Kakyuu shook her head, hiding a small smile that crept to her lips.

"Girls, girls, no need to fight! Seiya can buy you more!" Naomi assured, pinching the boy's shoulder lightly. He sighed, chuckling nervously. Serena smiled.

"And I'm definitely getting seconds!" Serena assured. Rini rolled her eyes.

"Of course you are." She muttered. Serena glared at her.

"Are you this disrespectful to your mother?" The blonde asked, poling out her lower lip a little. Rini huffed.

"No, because my mom's not a ditz." Rini replied. Serena's face tainted red with anger. Naomi laughed.

"They're a lot a like, don't you think?" She asked, turning to Seiya, who smiled.

"Same hair, same face, same appetite. No doubt they're related." He answered. Serena turned to him with a pout on her face.

"Seiya, you can't actually think I'm like that little brat, right?" Serena asked, leaning forward, her hands pressed together in front of her chin, fingers intertwined. Seiya's deep blue eyes widened.

"Um…Odango…I…" He began, uncertain. He certainly didn't want to offend the perky blonde, but he wasn't sure what to say to her. Naomi burst into wild laughter.

"Oh, Seiya…she has you wrapped around her little finger!" The girl exclaimed. Serena gave her an expression that looked partially confused while Seiya's cheeks flushed scarlet. Rini sent her a glare and Naomi awkwardly chuckled to calm herself down.

_-Sorry about that.-_ She mentally replied to Rini. The pink haired girl scoffed out loud.

_-You're trying to move this too fast!-_ Rini mentally shouted at Naomi, who visibly winced at the young girl's volume.

_-If _I _don't do anything now, nothings gonna start happening. I know, even after what you went through in the future, its hard to think that its your mission to keep your father and mother from being together, but this is for a greater good. For a better future for us all.- _Naomi gently explained. She saw Rini's red eyes widen.

_-That may be harder than you think.-_ The pink haired girl replied, and Naomi arched a brow.

_-What?-_

"Darien!" Serena exclaimed, jumping from her seat and running past them. Naomi and Seiya followed her only to see the blonde run up to Darien and hug him tightly. Naomi turned back to Rini and saw the girl run after her future mother, trying to feign excitement. But she could see the sadness and fear in the pools of red in Rini's eyes.

"Hey Serena, Rini. What're you guys doing here?" Darien's smile seemed genuine enough, but Naomi and Seiya both couldn't help but glare at him. Seiya for his envy of Darien for having the love of Serena, his Odango. Naomi for her hatred of Darien for sticking poor Seiya in an unrequited love, much like her own.

"We're here with the Thalia Senshi and Seiya and everyone." Serena explained, taking Darien's hand and leading him over to the table. He sat at a chair at the technical 'head' of the table, across from Kakyuu and between Serena and Seiya. Naomi sat beside Seiya, across from Rini at Serena's side.

"Oh." Darien replied simply, glancing towards Naomi. She sent a glare his way. She hadn't had any encounters with him like her Princess and Noelle, but that didn't mean she didn't know who he was and what he was capable of.

"So, Princess Kakyuu, Seiya told me they first sang to find you. What did you think of their songs?" Naomi asked. She didn't want to talk to Darien and wanted to keep every subject off of him.

"That is true. Honestly, their songs touched my heart deeply, so beautifully written and sung…" Kakyuu got a far away look in her eyes as she gazed forward. Naomi felt a chill go down her spine. She hid it with a forced smile as she turned to Seiya.

"What will you guys sing for now? What kind of songs will you be performing?"

"Well…we're not really sure with that ourselves yet. It depends on what our new managers think may be best for us." Seiya replied, shrugging. Naomi nodded.

"So what're you doing here, Darien?" Rini asked, her voice sounding full of genuine interest. Naomi rolled her eyes. Rini was a good actress if being a Princess didn't work out for her.

"Just walking around for a while." He answered, shrugging, glancing at Naomi again. She turned away from him, turning her nose up in the air.

She hated him. He was brother to Prince Damien. He was dating someone like Serena, and she believed the man wasn't worthy of the young blonde's love. It made her blood boil to think that for some reason, by some cruel twist of fate, those two were meant to be.

"…Naomi?"

The sound of her name snapped Naomi from her mental rant. She turned to Kakyuu, blinking at the Fireball Princess.

"Excuse me, what did you say?" She asked, tilting her head. Kakyuu smiled gently.

"I asked if you would like to go and find the others." Kakyuu repeated, a certain gentleness in her eyes. Serena turned to her.

"Yeah, we should go find them." The blonde added, beginning to gather her things.

"No need, Kitten." Serena turned and smile at Amara and Michelle, Trista standing not far behind them, a small smile on her face.

"Puu!" Rini shouted out, running past the first two Outers to hug the dark haired woman behind them. Trista smiled. She knew this was a hard time for Rini, going against everything she'd believed in for so long. Trista knelt down to the girl's level.

"How are things going?" She asked, smiling softly at the girl. Rini sighed.

"Fine, I guess." Rini replied, turning away. Trista sighed. She knew Rini must be going through a lot, risking her life and everything she knew to make sure her mother and father never got married.

"I'm gonna go find Noelle and Amy. They're in the book store over there." Naomi announced, pointing across the hall. Then something strange happened. A black light flickered in the store before vanishing completely, and only the Senshi and Kakyuu seemed to see it.

"We must find them." Michelle stated, and she turned leading them all out of the exit. They ran out of the doors, looking through the lot.

"Where did they go?" Rini asked, searching the lot. There was no sign of their friends and the pink haired girl was beginning to get worried. Naomi looked to her wrist watch and hit a button.

"Come in, Noelle? Can you hear me?" She asked. Eclipse's face appeared on the screen, a worried and determined expression in her eyes.

"Quick, guys, get to the park, and stat!" She ordered. Her image blinked in and out of focused until it faded into complete static. Naomi's pursed her lips.

"Come on, to the back lot!" Naomi advised, running to the back of the lot. Amara and Seiya, who held Kakyuu's hand tightly, followed closely behind, Trista and Michelle at their heels, Serena bringing up the rear with Rini and Darien. In the lot, Amara and Naomi made sure no one was around before Trista, Amara and Michelle raised their transformation wands high. Rini and Serena did the same with their brooches while Seiya put on his Sailor Change Star. Naomi raised her hand high, a jewel clasped tightly in her fist. It was a dark blue oval, in the center, a circle with a centered dot and an arrow pointing upwards, combination of the symbols of Mars and the Sun. Darien silently held his rose.

"_Titania Angelic Power!"_

"_Pluto Crystal Power!"_

"_Uranus Crystal Power!"_

"_Neptune Crystal Power!"_

"_Fighter Star Power!"_

"_Moon Cosmic Dream Action!"_

"_Moon Eternal Power!"_

"Hurry, we have to get to the park!" Titania directed.

"We'll never get there fast enough. We need to teleport." Fighter advised, standing beside Kakyuu protectively. Trista nodded and the Senshi formed a circle. To Sailor Moon's right was Fighter, than Kakyuu, Titania, than Mini Moon, Tuxedo Mask, Pluto, Neptune, Uranus and back to Sailor Moon.

"_Sailor-"_

But their incantation was interrupted by wild laughter. They all looked up and saw a girl sitting in mid air, smiling down at them maniacally.

Her hair was wild and purple, flowing down to her waist. It nearly covered her upper body in a wild mass of curls. A single black streak of hair went down the center of her crown, beginning at a black diamond on her forehead that was rimmed with red. Her top was a black halter top, rimmed with purple that stopped directly below her breasts and revealed right above her cleavage. Her transparent purple mini skirt revealed ink black panties below it. High purple heels rimmed with white stopped at her ankles. Beginning at her cleavage and ending on the backs of her hand were jet black snake tattoos that seemed to slither in place and hiss. Her misty gray eyes narrowed at the Senshi below her.

"Who the hell are you?" Uranus demanded. The mysterious woman simply smiled.

"I am the Eighth Daughter of the Shadows, Kerri, Sovereign of the Snakes." Kerri introduced, holding a hand to her chest as she stood upright in the air. Kakyuu stood slightly behind Fighter, looking at her Senshi with wide eyes. What about the others?

"Kerri?" Titania asked, narrowing her eyes at the girl. Kerri laughed maniacally.

"Titania, I've been waiting for this moment. But not here. Come now, let's play a game!" Kerri encouraged, and with that, she took off flying towards the park.

"We have to stop her!" Min Moon shouted, and everyone nodded, running after Kerri, who smiled over her shoulder at the Senshi.

This game would be over all too soon.

For them.

**O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O**

The dark light vanished, and they all noticed they were in an abandoned wood. Noelle narrowed her eyes.

"You brought this on yourself, Anna." She warned. And with that, she raised her jewel high, Amy doing the same with her transformation wand and Taiki put on his Sailor Change Star.

"_Eclipse Angelic Power!"_

"_Mercury Crystal Power!"_

"_Maker Star Power!"_

Eclipse stood with her arms crossed. To her right stood Maker, hands on her hips as she glared at Anna. Mercury stood at Eclipse's left, hands clenched into fists at her sides.

"Even hidden, the powers of the sun and moon are great, vanquishing the concealed evil. I destroy the Shadows and banish the darkness. I am the Soldier of Frost and Hidden Secrets, Sailor Eclipse. Star Action!"

"My most lethal weapon being my brain, my intelligence is dangerous. I am the Soldier of Water and Wisdom, Sailor Mercury! I will punish you in the name of Mercury!"

"A wandering star shooting across the night sky, Sailor Star Maker. Stage on!"

Anna smiled maniacally as she looked at the three Senshi.

"Three Senshi from different stations of the galaxy all working together. How sweet." Anna said in a sickly sweet voice.

"Did you bring us here for small talk or a fight?" Eclipse snarled. Maker nodded and Anna sighed, tapping her shin with a fake pout on her face.

"How rude. Oh well, I guess it's only fair. You showed me your transformation, I'll show you mine." And with that, Anna leaped into the air doing a back flip. She stood straight mid air as her body was engulfed in a black light. Her green sundress faded into a bikini like top and shorts, black and decorated with white and pink. Her knee high heeled boots were black and white. She smiled down at them wickedly.

"Stand down and we won't hurt you!" Eclipse assured. Adriana snorted.

"I don't need mercy from pathetic beings like you." Adriana snapped. And with a flip of her wrist, a small army of Shadow Demons appeared. Mercury's eyes widened.

"What do we do?" The blue haired Senshi asked. Eclipse narrowed her eyes in determination.

"We fight." She replied. She and Maker immediately leaped into action while Mercury tried to process on her computer what these things were. All she could find out was that the sea of them may be small, but it seemed never ending.

**-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-**

"How does this look?" Chelsea asked, turning to Yaten and Lita. Lita's eyes widened a bit.

"Well…kinda like a guy." She admitted, shrugging. Chelsea smiled.

"That's exactly what I was hoping for." The blonde replied, turning back to look into a mirror.

She had a green and white baseball cap on, hiding her high ponytail. Ends of her blonde hair stuck out from underneath of the cap. It also created an illusion of bangs that greatly hid the lids of her cerulean blue eyes. The small gold hoop earrings she'd worn earlier were securely hidden in her pocket. Her pants were baggy, navy blue jeans and as a top she wore a green and gray striped polo. Below the shirt she wore a tight sports bra that mostly concealed her breasts. She nodded with satisfaction. Yes, this was good enough.

"Exactly why are you trying to look like Amara?" Yaten asked. Lita rolled her eyes and Chelsea scoffed.

"Ha-ha, very funny. And if you must know, back on Thalia, I'd pretend to be a guy sometimes. You know, have a guy hang around the girls. Also helped people accept me and Aaliyah a bit more." Chelsea explained. Yaten rolled his eyes and walked to the baseball department. Lita stuck her tongue out at him before turning back to Chelsea.

"Actually, I think you look good." Lita confessed, and Chelsea smiled, hugging the girl. Lita hugged her back.

"Thanks for being a friend, Lita." Chelsea murmured, and Lita laughed.

"No problem. You're actually pretty fun." Lita confessed, putting her hands on Chelsea's shoulders and pulling away from her. Chelsea's blue eyes sparkled. Yaten gagged.

"You two done?" He asked, arching a brow at them as he crossed his arms over his chest. Chelsea rolled her eyes yet again before smiling.

"Yes, we are done. Now, lets go find the others." She urged, but a flash out of the corner of her eyes stopped her. A flash of a blue ponytail. She turned in the direction but saw nothing. Not a thing.

"Chelsea? You okay?" Lita asked. Chelsea blinked and turned back to her.

"Um…yeah, I guess." Chelsea shrugged. She glanced over her shoulder again and saw two amber eyes peer back at her before vanishing with a flash of blue. Again. Yaten snapped his fingers in front of her face.

"You're spacing again." He observed. Chelsea turned to him, confusion in her eyes.

"Sorry, but…I thought I saw someone…" She murmured, turning back to look at the silver haired boy. But then she saw it, over his shoulder.

Yellow eyes glared at her behind dark blue bangs. High ponytail. Deep crimson red lips. Then, the face disappeared, and Chelsea felt her heart drop. She charged past Yaten and after the figure.

"What's she doing?" Lita asked. Yaten just shrugged and the two went after the runaway blonde.

Chelsea was in hot pursuit of the girl, following the wave of blue she left in her wake. She knew this girl. That hair, those eyes, that face. It was all a distant memory but she knew that from somewhere, she knew this girl. It almost hurt to try and remember. But she had a feeling that she had to. As if a lot depended on it.

Then, like a flash of lightning, it hit her. A name. The name. The name of this mysterious girl she was chasing.

"Melanie!" She called out. The bluenette stopped and turned back, yellow eyes widening in surprise. Chelsea slowed to a stop before taking a small step towards the girl.

"You know my name." The yellow eyed girl said simply. Chelsea nodded.

"Yes. I do." She answered, taking another step towards Melanie, who took a step back.

"Stay away from me." Melanie growled out, taking another step back. Chelsea narrowed her eyes in confusion.

"What? Why?" She asked, tilting her head to the side. Melanie simply shook her head and stepped back again. She narrowed her eyes.

"You don't know what you're getting into. Stay away." She warned. Chelsea stopped in her tracks and looked at Melanie.

Then the pain came back. A throbbing in her skull. It was so strong its forced knocked the blonde to her knees. Melanie shook her head as she stared at Chelsea, a certain pity in her eyes.

"You won't supposed to remember me." She murmured. Then she turned in the other direction and ran outside. Chelsea ground her teeth together as she felt arms grab her shoulder.

"Chels? Chelsea, are you alright?" A voice asked. Lita's voice. Chelsea turned to her, the brunette blurring slightly in her vision. She tasted blood. She was biting her own tongue.

But the pain seemed minimal to the message in her head. Someone or something was telling her to get up and go after Melanie. And whatever that force was drove away the headache, and the blonde rose to her feet. Lita helped steady her on one side, Yaten on the other.

"We need to go after her." Chelsea grunted. Yaten glared at her.

"For what? Besides, you look like your about to drop dead any minute." He commented, earning a slap on the arm from Lita, who shrugged innocently. He rolled his eyes and shook his head.

"I'm not sure, but we need to get her." And with those words, Chelsea pulled herself away from her friend's grip and ran after Melanie, watching as the blue ponytail danced behind the girl as she ran out into the parking lot. Yaten and Lita exchanged a look before shrugging and running after her.

"Yaten!" Some girls yelled. Yaten groaned as he sped up, already regretting coming back. He'd hoped since they hadn't started recording again the fans wouldn't be as interested. But they remembered enough about the Three Lights not to care.

"Wow, looks like you guys sure know how to get a work out!" Lita huffed out, smirking at Yaten who rolled his eyes. They continued running after Chelsea, finally catching up to her.

"What are you doing?" Yaten demanded. Chelsea continued on, panting, Lita at her heels.

"Going after Melanie. We have to stop her!" Chelsea insisted, trying to gain speed. Yaten groaned about hating running while Lita sighed. There was no way they could snap Chelsea out of this. They simply followed the blonde, dodging cars and passerby's.

As they reached the cover of trees across from the lot, Chelsea slowed to a halt. Yaten, thankful for the break, leaned against a tree, overdramatically gasping for air. Lita rolled her eyes, leaning forward with her hands on her knees, panting heavily. Chelsea reached into the pocket of her jeans and pulling out a green circle crystal jewel. From the jewel, in only one direction, were five stems, alternating between the colors green and blue.

"Transform!" Chelsea ordered. Lita nodded and pulled out her transformation wand while Yaten sighed before pulling out his Sailor Star Change.

"_Healer Star Power!"_

"_Jupiter Crystal Power!"_

"_Comet Angelic Power!"_

"This way!" Comet urged, running again. Healer sighed before following, Jupiter hot on her heels. They continued on through the trees, over lush green grass and past strong sturdy trees until they reach a clearing where they found Sailor Star Fighter and Star Maker with Mercury, Eternal Sailor Moon, Mini Moon, Tuxedo Mask, Princess Kakyuu, Pluto, Uranus, Neptune, Titania and Eclipse.

"What's going on here?" Jupiter asked, stepping forward. Her only replies were shrugs.

"One second, we're fighting some Shadow Demons, and then next thing we know, they're here." Titania explained.

"Same with us." Eclipse added. Comet furrowed her brow. Something wasn't right here. But her thoughts were interrupted by wild cackling overhead.

All eyes shot upwards as they looked at Kerri and Adriana, floating high above them. But beside Kerri was a girl with a dark blue high ponytail and piercing yellow eyes. She wore only a strapless black corset top rimmed with blue and a black mini skirt with a blue layer beneath it. Her knee high boots were black and laced blue. She smiled down at Comet.

"Surprise, surprise, the mice have stumbled right into our trap." Kerri smiled. Adriana laughed while Melanie crossed her arms, smirking down at them, a certain satisfaction in her eyes. Comet's hands clenched into tight fists at her side. Then, the three Shadow Sister's disappeared.

It was a trap.

But Eclipse's thoughts were somewhere else.

Everyone was here.

But Celestia and those she'd taken with her.

Her eyes widened with realization.

This trap wasn't for them. They were just the bait.

They wanted Celestia.

**O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O**

"Something's wrong." Super Nova said, standing. Celestia stood beside her and looked at her Senshi with clouded eyes. In the far corner of the deserted hall, Venus and Mars were trying to bring Malcolm back to consciousness. The raven haired Senshi of fire glared at Pandora.

"Jeez, did you knock him out hard enough?" She asked sarcastically. Pandora rolled her eyes, hands on her hips. She stood behind Celestia and Super Nova, Saturn directly at her side.

"What's the matter, Nova?" Pandora asked, her voice cracking. She felt it too. A disturbance, Shadow beings causing a disturbance in the human world.

"We need to get out of here. Now." Super Nova insisted. With that, she de-transformed and the others followed her example.

"He's coming to!" Mina exclaimed, leaning over Malcolm's face. Her long blonde hair tickled his cheeks, and his false green eyes slowly flickered open. He stared into Mina's cerulean blue eyes in confusion, dizziness overtaking him and his vision blurring.

"Where am I?" He asked, his voice slurring. Kristen felt tears springing to her eyes and she ran to Malcolm, kneeling by his side.

"Malcolm? Malcolm, it's me, Kristen. Malcolm, we're in the deserted hall in the mall. Do you remember?" She asked, moving her hair over her shoulder so that her fiery red locks didn't touch him. He looked back up at her.

"Kristen…" He murmured, reaching out weakly to touch him. Kristen smiled as her tears rolled down onto his face. She grabbed his hand and pressed his palm to her cheek.

"_Vyrdaes os si Mas…******_" She whispered, closing her eyes. A red aura flowed from her body and made her hair dance around her until it reached out to him, flowing into his body and giving him power.

Seconds later, the red aura dimmed until it was gone completely, and Kristen's hair lay still again. She opened her eyes and looked down at her brother as he looked back at her, his eyes seeming stronger. He sat up without much help from his sister.

"Kristen, you're alright…" He observed, wrapping his arms around her and pulling her into a tight embrace. Kristen smiled, hugging him back.

"You bet I am." She assured. Leilani coughed.

"Sorry to break this reunion, really, I am, but Kristen, you said something was wrong. A disturbance. Shouldn't we be getting to that?" She asked, hands on her hips. Malcolm's eyes opened wide.

"Kristen…you told her?" He demanded, his voice filled with fear and laced with anger. Kristen smiled.

"I didn't have to tell her. Our Princess knows all." She answered. Malcolm fell silent, his eyes widening as he looked over his sister's shoulder and at Leilani, who smiled widely, hands pressed together in front of her.

"It is nice to see you again, Aidan. It's been far too long." She said in another language. Thalian. Malcolm's eyes widened to the size of saucers.

"Princess…Celestia…?" He asked softly. Leilani nodded, a wide smile on her face.

"It's Leilani here. On Earth." She answered, shrugging.

Malcolm stammered incoherent sounds before immediately bowing to Leilani, who giggled.

"Rinse, Aidan. I have no intention of forcing you all to serve me." Leilani explained, kneeling before Malcolm, who looked up at her.

"Princess…it's…Malcolm." He forced out, and Leilani smiled, her jaw set.

"Malcolm it is then." She replied, standing. Malcolm also stood and continued staring at the Princess.

"Guys, we've got to go. Now." Aaliyah insisted, trying to fight the Shadows inside of her. Everyone nodded before running out of the hall, doing their best to avoid the average civilians around them.

They ran down a flight of stairs, shoving aside a person here or there or spilling a few drinks. They shouted out apologies to every person they disturbed in their hurry. Reaching the outside of the mall, they all began a hot race across the lot, dodging cars and families. After about three moments of avoiding near death experiences, they ended in a deep forest. They all exchanged a look before nodding.

"_Mars Crystal Power!"_

"_Venus Crystal Power!"_

"_Saturn Crystal Power!"_

"_Pandora Angelic Power!"_

"_Super Nova Angelic Power!"_

"_Celestial Divine Power!"_

"_Flame Guardian!"_

The Senshi transformed, as did Guardian Phoenix. He worelong red robes rimmed with gold. On the back of the robe was an elegant phoenix, traced completely with gold. His face was half shadowed by the robes, the other half covered with a white mask that ended just as his lip line. The only visible part of his face was one of his gleaming red eyes, the green contact having disappeared in his transformation. He immediately leapt into the trees, disappearing from sight. Celestia turned to the other Senshi and they all nodded, running straight ahead.

"What was he?" Saturn asked as she ran beside Pandora, who smiled.

"That, my friend, was one of the Guardian Warriors. They guard us on Thalia, Guardian Angel Senshi and all. Your lucky you get to meet Malcolm first." Pandora replied, sending a sidelong glance to the young Senshi of destruction, who arched a brow.

"Why?" She asked, huffing slightly from their long run. Pandora, who seemed almost unaffected by the exercise, sighed.

"Because the others can be kind of…cold, distant, indifferent to us in our civilian forms. We don't know if that's an act or not." The green and red Senshi answered. Saturn frowned. Sounded like how the Outers were when they first met the Inner Guardian Senshi. But she didn't want to bring up any old, sore subjects like that.

Their run into the woods continued on in silence, the Thalia Senshi were nearly impervious to the unusually long run. The Earth Senshi on the other hand, while holding up their own, were beginning to feel winded by the agonizingly long work out. Soon, they stumbled upon a clearing where their other friends were already gathered.

"Super Nova?" Titania asked, her voice cracking, her eyes reflecting the disbelief she felt inside. Super Nova gave her a small smile before nodding.

"Princess, be on your guard." Eclipse warned, running towards her Princess. Celestia blinked in surprise as Eclipse, Pandora, Super Nova, Comet and Titania suddenly surrounded her.

"Guys, I'm not helpless." She reminded, trying to break through the wall of her friends, but Pandora turned to her, eyes flashing with fear.

"But dangers approach Princess, and you must be careful!" She snapped. As soon as the words left her mouth, she froze, biting her lip uncertainly and turning away.

"Pandora, is there something you know we don't?" Comet asked, putting a hand on her friend's shoulder. Pandora looked away, shrugging Comet's hand off.

"Pandora, if you know something, you should tell us." Titania insisted in a gentle yet somewhat harsh voice. Pandora looked down. Eclipse snapped.

"Something's going on and you now it! Are you willing to let someone get hurt, to let someone _die_ because your afraid of your destiny?" Eclipse demanded. Pandora flinched as if Eclipse had slapped her.

Which was why Eclipse did slap her.

Her gloved fingers left a stinging pain on Pandora's cheeks, but the girl's words had caused her more pain. Tears pricked at her eyes as she looked away again. Celestia held her friend gently, hands wrapped around her as she glared at Eclipse.

"Eclipse!" She reprimanded harshly.

"They're coming." Pandora murmured softly. Celestia turned to her in confusion.

"What?" She asked softly. But her question didn't need to be answered.

"We're here!" A voice sang. All eyes looked upwards to see Kerri floating high above. To her left was a smirking Adriana and to her right a very bored looking Melanie. Kerri smiled wickedly.

"Sisters, look what we have here!" She exclaimed with mock shock.

"Looks like a couple of little Senshi who strayed much too far from their kingdom." Melanie replied, the same sickly sweet tone in her voice.

"Perhaps we should help them find their way." Kerri suggested.

"To their deaths?" Adriana asked.

"Of course." Kerri answered.

"Then let us help them." Melanie suggested.

"Wonderful idea, sister." Adriana said, lowering herself to the ground. Her sisters followed her example.

"Hear that Senshi? We'd be glad to help you." Kerri called out as the lowered themselves even further. Uranus ground her teeth together.

"Enough! World Shaking!" She shouted out, sending the powerful attack towards the girls, who leapt out of the way in time and jumped back into the air.

"Well, someone's impatient." Adriana remarked, rolling her eyes.

"How rude!" Kerri accused.

"Sisters, look! She dirtied my hair!" Melanie exclaimed, showing her sisters her ponytail which was now stained with dirt.

"That is unforgivable, wouldn't you agree, sister?" Adriana asked, crossing her arms. Melanie scowled at Uranus.

"I _highly _agree, sister." Melanie snarled.

And with that, she closed her eyes and raised her arms so that Shadows rose from the ground. But something was different about these Shadows. They seemed to be made from some black water of sorts. Kerri smiled.

"Splendid idea, sister!" She praised, crossing her arms in front of her and then opening her hands wide.

Snakes jumped from the back of her hands. They slithered across her skin and jumped to the ground, breaking off into more, tinier snakes. As the smaller snakes hit the ground, they began to grow and quiver. Soon, the smaller snakes formed large, stout snakes that hissed and slithered towards the Senshi.

Adriana span once, and black leaves leapt from her body. They attached themselves to other trees, tainting the brown bark black and the fresh green leaves a dark grey. Branches began to move and the roots were uprooted. Red eyes opened with endless dark chasms that seemed to take the place of mouths. They began to move, using their roots to slide across the Earth. They stood beside the snakes, opening their endless mouths in loud groans and other incoherent sounds. Kerri flew forward.

"Shadow Demons, do as I command, destroy these impertinent Senshi!" She commanded in a loud voice. Her answers were splashes, hisses, and groans. She smiled as the army charged forward.

"Our job is done sisters, would you like to enjoy the show?" Adriana asked. Kerri nodded and Melanie smiled.

"Yes, let's." She answered, yellow eyes dancing. The three settled in the sky, watching the Senshi below them.

"Space Sword Blaster!"

"Submarine Reflection!"

"Star Sensitive Inferno!"

As the attacks went at the upcoming dark army head on, Maker and Fighter turned to Kakyuu.

"Princess, this area is not safe, we must get you out of here at once." Maker insisted. Kakyuu's red eyes were wide and fearful.

"But where is she to go?" Comet demanded.

"Leave her with me. My golden barrier will protect her. I swear to you, I will let no harm befall the Fireball Princess." Pandora vowed. Fighter looked at her, her face set hard.

"Make sure she stays safe." She ordered. Pandora nodded and Fighter turned back to the battle at hand.

"Star Serious Laser!"

"Star Gentle Uterus!"

"Aqua Rhapsody!"

"Flame Sniper!"

The Star Senshi's attacks hit the Shadow Tree Demons on the mark, forcing the monsters to fall back. But after a moment, they pressed forward. Mercury and Mars's attacks only wounded the snakes, but they continued on.

"How do we destroy these things?" Mars asked, shouting over the noise of battle.

"I'm trying to figure that out!" Mercury replied, typing diligently on her computer.

"Well I hope you figure it out soon! Love and Beauty Shock!" Venus shouted out.

"Dead Scream!"

"Crystal Cannon!"

"Charge Evolution!"

"Diamond Siege!"

The Shadow Water Demons fell back, only to slowly rise again.

"There's no end to them!" Jupiter exclaimed, grinding her teeth in frustration.

"There has to be a way!" Eclipse called back.

"Let me try! Silver Moon Crystal Power Kiss!"

Sailor Moon's attack coated many of the snake and tree Shadow Demons in a blinding light, effectively killing a handful of them. But more rose in their place.

"There has to be a way to do this!" Healer yelled, tightening the grip on her Star Yell.

"I'm tired of us getting no where!" Comet snarled, and she charged at one of the tree demons directly, leaping into the air and sticking out her foot to kick the monster.

Just as her foot as about to make contact with the demon, it used its branches to grab her leg and dangle her upside down. Her face flushed red with anger and embarrassment as her skirt fell.

"Let me go! Charge Evo-" But she was cut off mid-attack as the Shadow Demon threw her away into another, not tainted tree. She hit the tree with a loud thud, rattling branches above and leaves fell to the ground. As she fell to the ground, several of the Senshi winced as they heard a sickening snap and Comet scream out in pain.

"Comet!" Celestia exclaimed, running towards her friend, who was laying on her left side. As Celestia turned her over, Comet clutched her left arm to her chest tightly, and Celestia saw that she was holding it at an awkward angle. It was broken.

"Princess…sorry I…don't think I can…protect you…like this…" Comet forced out through grit teeth. Celestia frowned and turned to the Shadow Demon that had hurt Comet and was currently approaching them. She stood, tightening her grip on the cold, golden metal of her glaive. She raised it high.

"Shine Evolution!" She shouted out. As the golden light pierced the tree demon, it screamed out in pain was it was blown apart. Comet's eyes widened as Celestia tensed.

"Princess…please…be careful…" She murmured, trying to prop herself up on a tree trunk. Celestia nodded and faced the Shadow Demons before hurrying back to the Senshi.

"We must fight them in groups! There are twenty of us, break up into four groups! Only then can we take them!" She advised. Eclipse nodded and stood at her side while Pandora expanded her barrier to protect them all.

"Uranus, Neptune, Pluto and Saturn, you, of course, will form one group. Fighter, Mars, Maker and Mercury, you're the second group. Healer, Venus, Jupiter and Super Nova are our next group. Celestia, Titania, Mini Moon, Sailor Moon and myself will make up the final group. Pandora, you stay with Kakyuu and defend her the best way you can." She organized, pale blue eyes flashing. Everyone but Mini Moon nodded.

"What am I supposed to do? Without Pegasus…" Her voice trailed off as she looked down. Eclipse pondered it for a moment.

"Do you have any other attacks?" She asked, kneeling beside the girl. Mini Moon shook her head.

"Well, I do have one, but it's not very good…" She mumbled. Eclipse nodded.

"Then we'll need you to help Pandora protect Comet and Kakyuu." She devised. Mini Moon nodded and ran to Comet's side, where Kakyuu was now sitting and Pandora was putting up her barrier.

"Let's get this over with." Titania mumbled, turning back to the battle. Everyone ran forward with her, separated into their appropriate groups.

**-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-**

"You all attack, I'll put up by barrier, and we'll continue forward. The closer we are, the more our attacks hurt them." Saturn suggested. The other Outer Senshi nodded at the idea. Seeing how the battle was going so far, any suggestions were welcomed.

"Dead Scream!"

"Space Sword Blaster!"

"Submarine Reflection!"

"Silent Wall!"

The attacks hit the Shadow Demons head on, causing them to fall back. The snakes continued on forward, lashing their tails at the Senshi, but Saturn's barrier kept them at bay. The young Senshi smiled as she and her companions moved forward. As the attacks by the Shadow Demons subsided, Saturn put down her wall again and the Outers attacked.

"Submarine Reflection!"

"Dead Scream!"

"Space Sword Blaster!"

"Silent Wall!"

The Outers pressed on forward as some of the Shadow Demons, mostly the snakes and water demons, fell from the power of the attacks. Not destroyed, but weakened. They continued on another few feet before Saturn lowered her wall again and they repeated the process.

This time, much to the Outer Senshi's elation, many of the demons they attacked fell to their deaths while their successors moved to attack them in grief and anger. Saturn's wall kept them from harming the Senshi, much to demons anger. When they finally stopped attacking, Saturn quickly lowered her wall.

"Space Sword Blaster!"

"Submarine Reflection!"

"Dead Scream!"

"Silent Wall!"

This wave of attacks killed many of the snake demons and quite a number of the tree demons. Comet gave a whistle of satisfaction and Mini Moon cheered. Pandora nearly swelled with pride from the thought that the Senshi she was born to guard had the brilliance and creativity to come up with a plan to destroy so many of the Shadow Demons. But inwardly, she hoped it would be enough.

**-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-**

Over with Fighter, Mars, Maker, and Mercury, they continued fighting while Mercury typed on her computer, still unable to find any other way to destroy the Shadow Demons. She had to admit, the Outers solution was very effective. But they couldn't use it seeing as they didn't have a Senshi among their small group to create a barrier as Sailor Saturn had. And her micro-computer wasn't giving her the answers she needed fast enough.

"Have you been able to find anything, Mercury?" Maker asked, glancing over her shoulder at the blue haired Senshi, who shook her head sadly.

"I'm afraid not." Mercury replied, sighing.

"I hope you find something soon, I'm not sure how much longer we can keep this up!" Mars shouted back. Fighter huffed in agreement.

"Star Serious Laser!"

"Flame Sniper!"

Mars narrowed her eyes as she looked out the corner of her eyes and saw the Outers take out another wave of Shadow Demons. They had Saturn's wall, if only they had something like that, something to hide or protect them…

Wait a minute!

"Maker, Fighter, cover me!" She ordered as she ran back to Mercury. The Star Senshi nodded and continued their battles. Mars grabbed Mercury's arm and forced her to meet her eyes.

"Mars, what're you doing?" Mercury asked, trying to pull her arm back, and Mars shook her head.

"We need your Shabon Spray!" Mars exclaimed. Mercury looked at her friend, wondering if she was delusional.

"That won't do anything!" She insisted, again trying to pry her arm free, but Mars refused to release her.

"No! That'll be our cover, like Saturn's Silent Wall! Instead of protection, we'll be hidden and protected that way so we can get close!"

Mercury's eyes widened as she understood Mars words. She nodded, putting her computer away and making her visor vanish. She ran forward to stand with Fighter and Maker, Mars at her heels.

"We're going to do what the Outers are doing, but in reverse! Mercury will cover us, then we attack as close as we can get! Okay?" Mars shouted out to her team. The Star Senshi said their agreements as Mercury ran forward.

"Shabon Spray!"

As the frozen bubbles temporarily blinded their enemy, all four of the Senshi ran forward, as close to the nearest Shadow Demons they could access.

"Star Serious Laser!"

"Star Gentle Uterus!"

"Flame Sniper!"

"Aqua Rhapsody!"

Mercury and Mars both attacked a snake demon while Fighter and Maker both aimed their attacks at a water demon. Both the monsters disintegrated into darkness. Mars smiled at her plan, marveled at how well it worked.

"Pretty good plan, Mars." Fighter praised. The Senshi of Fire and Passion nodded, a wide smile on her face. The Senshi got into position as Mercury charged forward again, beginning their attacks anew, attack larger groups of the monsters.

**-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-**

Mini Moon froze as she heard strange sounding footsteps behind her. Both she and Kakyuu turned, Pandora's eyes staying fixed on the battle at hand, keeping her barrier up. A water demon was coming at them, arms raised high. The Fireball Princess stood to her feet, not showing the fear she really felt. The pink Senshi's grip tightened on her Pink Moon Stick, red eyes narrowed in determination.

"Pink Sugar Heart Attack!"

The water demon froze in its tracks, expecting to be hit by whatever Mini Moon's attack was. Nothing happened. Mini Moon sweat dropped, suddenly very nervous. Kakyuu, on the other hand, wasn't sure how to react. She was amused by Mini Moon's attack, but also somewhat frightened by how the Shadow Demon may retaliate. The demon just moved closer to Mini Moon and the young girl fell back, staring up at the monster with wide eyes. Just what was it doing?

"Pink Sugar Heart Attack!"

And again, for a long moment, nothing happened. But suddenly, small pink hearts were rapidly fired at the water demon. It retreated, crossing its arms in front of its face to block itself from the assault. Finally, in annoyance, it took of running in the other direction, back into the clearing. Mini Moon blinked, and Kakyuu held a hand in front of her mouth to keep herself from giggling, but to no avail. More snickering was heard, and both red eyed girls turned to Pandora, who had her back to them, but her shoulders were shaking, giving away her laughter. Mini Moon couldn't help but blush from embarrassment.

Did her attack have to be so childish?

She shook her head, sighing as she returned to her spot beside Kakyuu. The Fireball Princess gave her a gentle smile, and Mini Moon couldn't help but smile back. She understood why the Starlights were so close to her. Kakyuu was very kind, and sometimes enjoyed playing small tricks on her friends. She was one of the people you couldn't help but be drawn to.

Mini Moon shook her head to rid herself of these thoughts, and both she and Kakyuu turned back to the battle. Fear was manifesting itself inside of her. She now had an unexplainable feeling something terrible was going to happen in this battle.

**-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-**

"Star Sensitive Inferno!"

"Oak Evolution!"

Healer and Jupiter watched in frustration as the monster the attack was winded but simply continued on approaching them.

"We don't have a loophole like Mercury and the others do. We have no cover. What're we supposed to do?" Venus asked, looking to Super Nova, who frowned in thought.

"There has to be a way…" She muttered to herself. But she was so lost in her thoughts, she didn't notice a large tree demon coming at her.

"Super Nova!" Venus shouted. Nova turned around, red hair flashing like a wave, red eyes wide and fearful as she looked at the demon about to attack her. She turned away frightfully.

When she never felt a blow similar to Comet's come, she looked up and saw that the demon had fallen at her feet. In front of her was a familiar red robe with a golden Phoenix on the back. In his hand was a large, sword made completely of flames. Super Nova smiled.

"Are you alright, Super Nova?" The flame guardian asked, and Super Nova's smile widened.

"Yes, thank you Phoenix." She replied, giving him a small bow with her head.

He nodded before leaping into a battle against snake demons. She smiled after him before turning to another approaching small group of water Shadow Demons. She'd learned from the battle so far that these were the weakest of the Shadow Demons.

"Pulsing Star Annihilation!"

Out of the ten approaching demons, about six of them were destroyed. The other four continued to approach at an alarming speed.

"Love and Beauty Shock!"

The attack destroyed the remaining four Shadow Demons because of its power and Venus's closeness.

"Thanks, Venus!" Super Nova smiled, and Venus nodded, standing beside Nova as Shadow Snake Demons began to come at them.

"There are too many!" Jupiter shouted, and Healer grunted in agreement. Super Nova watched the other two groups, that were already defeating many of the Shadow Demons, wondering if they could find a sort of loophole around how to defeat them. It was obvious that the attacks closest to the Shadow Demons had the greatest effects.

That was when she hit her realization.

It didn't really matter about the attack. It was about how close they were able to get to the monster.

"Venus, I think I've got a plan, but I need your help." Super Nova hissed at the blonde Soldier of Love, who nodded.

"I'm willing to try just about anything now." She admitted. Super Nova nodded.

"That approaching group of snake demons, I need you to run left and distract them. With their attention on you, I'll attack from behind and then you attack. Get as close as you can before you attack!" Super Nova replied. Venus nodded.

"Let's do it."

With that, Venus took off towards the snake demons before breaking left. The snake demons whipped their head in her directing, approaching the Senshi at a steady speed, slowly doing faster. Healer glanced over at the orange soldier.

"What the hell is she doing?" She growled.

Then she saw a flash of red, and watched as Super Nova ran behind the very same snake demons. She faintly heard Jupiter attack behind her, but paid it no mind. She wanted to see what the other two Senshi were trying to accomplish.

Venus turned and faced the Shadow Demons. There were about five of them. She braced herself, waiting for Super Nova to make the first move. The snakes were getting closer and closer, and she couldn't help but step back. The snakes were enormous and menacing, a sort of acidic poison dripping from their mouths, their tongues hissing furiously. The blonde could smell the miasma on their breath, and the horrid stench caused her to wrinkle her nose as she took another step back. Then, behind the beasts, she saw Super Nova leap into the air.

"Pulsing Star Annihilation!"

'_That's my cue!'_ Venus thought.

"Love and Beauty Shock!"

The joint attacks caused the large Snake Shadow Demons to screech in both shock in pain as they were obliterated. Super Nova cheered and Venus smiled. They found their own way to defeat the monsters. She turned to see Jupiter staring at them with wide eyes, Healer seeming both shocked and proud at their actions. Super Nova ran towards them and stopped beside Venus.

"Did you both see what we did there? We need to do that. One distracts, then they both attack. Remember, get as close as you can!" Super Nova instructed. Healer and Jupiter nodded before taking off, Healer being the bait and Jupiter first to attack as they went after some approaching water and tree demons. Venus and Super Nova turned back to each other.

"Ready to do this again?" Venus asked, a playful smile on her lips. Super Nova smiled back.

"Anytime your ready!" She replied, and the two leapt back into battle.

**-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-**

"Diamond Siege!"

"Power Spark!"

"Starlight Honeymoon Therapy Kiss!"

The three attacks went at different individual Shadow Demons, and each monster fell back, greatly weakened by the power. But more demons rose up around them and pressed forward. Celestia growled, tightening her grip on her glaive. Eclipse ground her teeth in frustration and Sailor Moon sighed. They'd been going at this since the battle had begun and had yet to effectively destroy more than eight of the monsters. It was starting to irritate them all.

"Crystal Cannon!"

Titania's attack pierced many of the monsters, but none were obliterated. She growled, and Celestia put a hand on the girl's shoulder to calm her.

"Maybe we should try what Jupiter, Venus, Healer and Super Nova are doing." Sailor Moon suggested, gesturing to the other Senshi. Eclipse nodded.

"Alright. Sailor Moon, you go with Celestia. Make sure you get out as many as you can, seeing as you two are the most powerful. I'll go with Titania." Eclipse organized, grabbing her friends wrist and running off with her. Sailor Moon and Celestia exchanged a look before nodding.

"I'll be the bait." The blonde Senshi said, and Celestia ran into position. Sailor Moon followed her example, effectively gaining the attention of many of all three forms of the demons. There was a group of twelve in total. This had to work.

She led them away, careful to stay close enough her attacks would have the desired effect, but far enough away the tree's branches and the snake's venom would be able to hurt her. She kept a careful eye on the trees all the while, not needing Tuxedo Mask to come out, now of all times, with a rose and ruining everything. The monsters had to believe she was vulnerable and easy bait.

As she ran, she constantly glanced around, looking for the young Celestial Princess. A cold feeling of dread washed over her.

What if she never came?

Sailor Moon shook her head, forcing the thought away. Celestia wasn't like that. She would never turn her back on her, or anyone for that matter. It just wasn't in the girl's nature.

But the doubt filled her again as she noticed the heavenly Princess was taking her time. Worry began to pool at the pit of the Moon Child's stomach. Would Celestia really abandon her, leave her for dead?

"Shine Power Spark Evolution!"

_Finally!_ Sailor Moon thought with exasperation.

"Silver Moon Crystal Power Kiss!"

The monsters all screamed in agony as they were destroyed. Celestia landed beside Sailor Moon with a smile but frowned at the icy glare she was receiving.

"What?" She asked, shrugging. Sailor Moon's icy glare melted away into a joking smile.

"Took you long enough!" She accused, nudging the girl's rib cage with her elbow. Celestia smiled again and giggled, mumbling out an apology before turning to the oncoming Shadow Demons.

"Ready to take these freaks down?" She asked, glancing at the winged Senshi out of the corner of her eye. Sailor Moon nodded, feeling adrenaline pump through her veins. As tiresome as this battle was becoming, she was afraid to admit she actually found it…fun to fight with the Thalia Senshi. As tense as they were, she could still feel some soft of easy going attitude from them. It was relaxing in a way.

"Lets do it." She replied, and she took off running left again, attracting the attention of the Shadow Demons, while Celestia went right. This time, it didn't take the girl as long.

"Shine Power Spark Evolution!"

"Silver Moon Crystal Power Kiss!"

"Diamond Siege!"

"Crystal Cannon!"

Sailor Moon glanced over her shoulder as she saw even more of the Shadow Demons disintegrate. Titania and Eclipse glanced over, wide smiles on their faces.

"What was that?" Titania demanded, turning to Celestia. She smiled innocently.

"I have no idea what you mean." She answered, shrugging and turning away. Eclipse moved to block her path.

"'Shine Power Spark Evolution'? Is that a combination of both of your attacks?" Eclipse asked, arching a brow, a small smile on her face. Celestia smiled at her widely.

"Maybe." She sang. Eclipse rolled her eyes, exhaling a breath that sounded like a laugh before rushing over to Titania and the two began their assault on the Shadow Demons again.

"Think we could switch?" Sailor Moon asked. Celestia nodded.

"Of course. I've always wanted to be bait." She joked, winking and flashing Sailor V's signature 'V for Victory' sign before running off. Sailor Moon smiled to herself before going in the opposite direction and waiting for the perfect moment to strike.

What she didn't notice was the large Tree Demon behind her. It's flaking black bark fell around it, tinted grey leaves floating down to the Earth. It's branches were poised to strike the Moon Child. But Sailor Celestia did notice.

"Sailor Moon!" Celestia shouted, abandoning her mission to distract the monsters and running towards the winged Senshi, who looked at her in confusion. The Tree Demon growled, and began its attack.

Celestia lunged, arms outstretched as she pushed Sailor Moon of the way. The blonde instinctively pulled her arms close to her chest to avoid hurting her wrists. Her wings, on the other hand, were bent towards her, temporarily dented. She ignored the pain instead and stared open mouth at the sight before her, the other Senshi even turning away from their own battles to see.

Celestia's ear piercing shriek bounced through the air. Her brown eyes were wide and her head thrown back, long ebony locks dangling around her. Blood stained her fuku, the spot growing larger with each second. Drips of blood flowed onto the jet black branch on her red skirt, down to the Earth. Her palms were being cut by the bark of the branch through her white gloves. Her screams ended in low cries as she hung her head down. The tight grip she'd had on the branch slowly weakened before her hands fell limply at her sides, blood dripped over her lower lip, dribbling slowly down to her chin. Her glaive fell from her hand, landing softly on the ground.

"Celestia!" Eclipse cried, tears streaming down her cheeks.

She rushed forward, Titania followed. Comet brought herself to her feet, still clutching her injured arm close before running towards her Princess as well. The Shadow Demon growled again before snapping its branch and sending Celestia's limp body into a tree. She fell back to the ground, face first.

Eclipse's hands balled into fists at her side, nails digging into her palm even through the glove. Her vision was beginning to be tainted red. She felt her hands warm with blood but she ignored it. Screaming angrily, she raised her right hand high above her head.

"Omni Fusion Herculean Assault!" She shouted out.

Blue and white shards of ice gathered together in a mass of colored swirls, spinning rapidly. They seemed to be in a cramped space, whirling in a small orb surrounded by light blue energy. The shards grew larger, the circle growing with it. The orb absorbed Eclipse's hand as she held it high. With a loud scream, she thrust her hand forward, sending the orb of shards at the Shadow Demon who'd stuck down her Princess.

The rapidly swirling shards pierced the tree demon and demons around it, passing through their tainted black bodies with ease and stabbing demons behind them, effectively taking out much of the Shadows Demon Army. The other Senshi looked on with wide eyes.

"It's never been that powerful before…" Titania murmured softly.

As the attack died down, Eclipse panted heavily, sweat beading down her forehead. Her bangs stuck to her face. The red in her vision faded as exhaustion fell over her. She fell to her knees, obviously weakened by the extreme power she'd used. She tried to regain her composure, but t was for naught. Her eyes rolled back into her head, revealing nothing but white before she fell, face first to the Earth. Her body laid limp as Titania seemed torn as to whether go to her friend or her Princess. Tearfully, she turned her back on Eclipse before facing Celestia, running towards her.

'_I'm so sorry, Noelle…'_

**-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-**

"And so the Heavenly Princess falls." Adriana said smiling. Melanie chuckled.

"Lady Kendra would be pleased to hear this news, no?" She asked her sisters, laughing along with Adriana. Kerri, for once, said nothing.

"Pity though. They seem to be killing our poor little pets." Adriana sighed, sitting cross legged. She rested her elbow on her knee, chin on the base of her palm, fingers curled so that the joint in her fingers brushed her cheek. She blinked lazily, yawning.

"Yes, quite a shame. Shall we send more their way, sister Kerri?" Melanie asked, crossing her arms and smiling smugly, expecting her sister to approve. When she never heard the other girl's voice, she glanced over her shoulder.

Kerri's gray eyes were clouded and distant, staring down at the limp body of the Heavenly Princess. Her ruby red lips were pressed in a tight and firm line. Her brows furrowed, long plum purple hair dancing in the wind, short skirt billowing around her. She stood upright in the air, arms crossed below her breasts. The snake tattoos on her legs, that began at her inner thigh and ended with the head of her snake at the base of the top of her foot, began to quiver and hiss, the snakes on her arms doing the same. Her own tongue licked over her lips. A snake tongue. A soft _hiss _escaped her lips as her tongue disappeared back into her mouth.

The Celestial Princess, whom the Shadow Prince so decided, had been willing to pay the ultimate price for the Princess of the Moon. Why? From the small bit of knowledge she had, the two had not been friends for a long time. They barely knew each other. And yet there was the Moon Princess, alive and mostly unharmed, save a dented wing and dirt on her fuku, and the Divine Princess, her body lifeless and unmoving. Why make such a sacrifice for one who did not matter?

"Kerri!" Adriana's voice broke Kerri from her thoughts, and she blinked, looking into the deep green eyes of Adriana. The pink haired girl rolled her eyes, backing away from he sister.

"You never answered." Melanie said stiffly. Kerri blinked rapidly, trying to remember what the blue haired girl had said to her.

"What was the question?" She asked, cocking her head to the side lightly. Melanie sighed, rolling her yellow eyes.

"Shall we unleash more of our pets on them?" She repeated, her voice laced with boredom. Kerri sighed, looking on the scene of the motionless Princess and her Senshi rushing to her side. She looked away, averting the gaze to her left.

"No, we should take our leave." She replied softly. Melanie and Adriana blinked, exchanging a confused look.

"But Kerri-" The green eyed Daughter of the Shadows began.

"We have nothing else to accomplish. The Princess has fallen, now we must deal with the fury of our Prince." She answered, the tone of her voice finalizing the discussion. A cloud of made of shadows appeared, shaped as if it was a mirror. Kerri stepped in slowly, arms crossed again and her head bowed. Adriana sighed and followed. Melanie glanced back at the scene, amber eyes flashing before turning back and leaping into the Shadow after her sisters.

As the last of them disappeared, as did their Shadow pets.

Yet none of the Senshi below noticed the Shadow Sisters departure.

**-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-**

"Celestia? Celestia, please…" Titania begged, holding her Princess close. Her body didn't feel as warm as it normally did. It was somewhat cold. Tears rolled down her cheeks, landing delicately on Celestia's cold and fair skin. She cradled the girls head, biting her lower lip to keep from crying out in her grief.

"This can't be happening…" Pandora murmured, holding a hand to her forehead as she knelt beside her friend. She shook her head, closing her eyes, hoping this was just a bizarre nightmare and any moment now she'd wake up and Leilani would tell her she was just having stupid nightmares again and there was nothing to worry about, flashing a goofy grin. But no matter how many times she wished it, she would not awaken. Saturn put her hand on the girl's shoulder, bowing her head. Tears sprung to her own eyes and the eyes of just about all of the other Senshi as the weight of the situation fell on them.

Sailor Moon knelt beside Celestia on the other side of her body. She seemed numb, tears streaming down her cheeks, cerulean blue eyes wide, lips parted in silence. Fighter, Healer, and Maker stood around her, heads bowed. Kakyuu stood beside Maker, feeling her beloved Starlights pain. Her own pain felt magnified as tears pooled in her red eyes. The Inner Senshi joined them. Super Nova stood beside Comet, body tensed. Guardian Phoenix leaped from an above tree, landing neatly behind the red-head soldier. He stood silently behind her, holding back the tears threatening to spill over. His Princess was gone. He and Super Nova had just been reunited with their princess, only to have her taken away from them again. But this time, she was gone forever.

Sailor Uranus held Eclipse's body in a bridal style fashion. The black haired girl was still unconscious from the amount of power she'd used in her quest for revenge. Neptune stood beside her at her left, hands on her as she hugged herself as if bracing against a cold that wasn't there. Her head was bowed, eyes closed. Pluto stood to the right of Uranus, hand tightening on her grip on the cold silver of the Garnet Rod. Sailor Pandora was right. This could not be happening. Princess Celestia could not die. She and Sailor Moon were the hope of the Universe, the light in the darkness. Without Celestia, even someone as powerful as Sailor Moon would fall to the power of the Shadows. She closed her eyes as tears slowly flowed down her cheeks. Was all hope for the cosmos now lost forever?

"Princess…" Eclipse murmured, stirring. Uranus looked down at her as the girl's eyes fluttered open, lips parting. She blinked away the sleepiness from her eyes and looked up at Uranus, eyes narrowed in confusion. Memories of her assault on the Shadow Demons slowly flooded back and her eyes widened. She looked to her right, seeing Titania's form hunched over, and the lower part of Celestia's motionless body. She eyes widened in horror as tears sprang anew to her eyes.

Uranus lowered her to the ground before the girl, as would be expected, fought her way out of her arms. Eclipse, though on unsteady legs, ran towards Titania and knelt beside her. The girl looked up and met the frightened eyes of her head Senshi, and slowly handed Celestia over to her. Eclipse cradled the lifeless Princess to her delicately, as if she was unreal and would disappear. Her breathing became slower as tears streamed down her cheeks, her eyes reflecting disbelief. She shook her head as she held Celestia close. This couldn't be happening. Not the Princess.

-_Saturn…there isn't anything you can do?-_ Pandora mentally asked the smaller Senshi. Saturn tensed, feeling Pandora's despair.

_-I'm sorry…I've never had to heal a wound this large before…can't you heal her like you did me?-_ Saturn felt guilty as she answered and Pandora didn't reply. The girl took a shaky breath and closed her eyes.

_-I'm sorry. I wasn't supposed to do that.-_

_-Why are you apologizing?-_

_-That day…I wasn't supposed to heal you. I used Shadow Energy to do that and I'm sorry. I shouldn't have used dark power on you, I didn't know how it would effect you. I was just so worried seeing you like that…we're lucky nothing bad came of it. I'm so sorry.-_

With those final words, Pandora closed off the connection between us. Saturn bit her lip, thinking back to that day. That moment. Nothing about her healing touch had seemed wrong. But maybe there was more to Pandora, more about the Shadows they still didn't know.

Eclipse continued to cry, cradling her Princess close. She'd never thought she'd miss Celestia's care free attitude and unique outlook on life before. But now, all she wanted was to hear her Princess chastise her for being too harsh. To sing as she once did on Thalia. To reminisce about life before this war. But no matter how much she wished it, Celestia's eyes didn't open. Eclipse closed her own eyes, pressing a gentle kiss to Celestia's forehead. A blinding light suddenly engulfed the lifeless soldier, and if forced Eclipse away. The Senshi squinted into the light, barely able to make out Celestia's form.

The lifeless Princess was slowly stripped of her fuku, until she laid bare in glowing light. Slowly, beginning just above her breasts, a golden ring surrounded her body. Moving down, the ring began to form her Princess gown, beginning with the corset like top. The dress was completely sleeveless, and it was different from the dress she'd worn in the Dream Realm. Instead of flowing about her, the dress was slim, even around the skirt. It flowed down to her feet, nearly covering her golden heels. On her forearms were pale yellow gloves that ended just before her elbows. The same thin silver necklace was around her neck. Her silver diamond earrings coolly brushed against her shoulders. The same silver bracelet delicately wrapped itself around her left wrist. The Celestial jewel hung around her neck and a thin silver chain right above her breasts, cool on her already chilling skin. Her scarlet red lips parted soundlessly as the light slowly began to fade. Her sleek ebony locks grew, past her ankles and surrounding her in an ocean of black. A golden tiara weaved itself in her hair, its 'arms' lost in the coal black waves. The light continued to fade until it was only a thin golden aura around Celestia's motionless body, and her body slowly floated into the sky.

The Senshi looked on with wide eyes as she continued floating higher. Soon, her body stopped mid-air. Beside her still body formed another body. The body of Queen Sahara. Her olive brown eyes rimmed and flecked with gold were glistened over with tears as that pooled in her eyes and flowed down her cheeks freely. Hesitantly, she reached out and touched her daughter's skin. It was cold and chilling even more by the second. Her tears seemed to glow silver reflecting off of Celestia's aura. Wrapping her arms lightly around the young girl's body, she pulled her close. Looking up from Celestia's still face, Sahara faced the Senshi below her.

"_When night falls and the full moon rises high, the beings born to protect our cosmos must align to journey to the realm of the fallen. Only then can they save the hope of the Universe."_

With those final words, a golden mist surrounded the Queen and her fallen daughter, slowly swallowing them until they disappeared completely. The Senshi continued watching soundlessly, as if controlled or in some sort of trance. Eclipse was the first to return to her senses.

The black haired Senshi fell to her knees, tears streaming down her face. Comet bowed her head, clutching her broken arm close to her chest with her good arm. Pandora hugged herself, sobbing. The Sol Senshi bowed their heads in silence while Sailor Moon softly began to cry herself, mumbling how the events that had transpired were her own fault. Sailor Pluto raised her hand as the last of the golden mist disappeared. As soon as it was gone from sight, the Senshi were suddenly surrounded in bright lights.

The Solar System Senshi were covered in thin ribbons of their respective colors as they involuntarily de-transformed. The Star Senshi were stripped of both their unique fuku and their female bodies, returning to their male forms. Each of the Thalia Senshi slowly faded in and out of focus until they reappeared, once again in their civilian forms. Phoenix was simply covered in his robe until it fell away, revealing Malcolm. They all looked around in confusion.

"What just happened?" Lita asked. No one replied, all uncertain themselves.

Trista turned away from them, walking back towards the woods. Hotaru turned.

"Momma Trista, where are you going?" Hotaru called, running after the woman. The other Senshi turned to look at the green haired woman as she turned.

"What do we do now?" Amara asked her, and Trista's crimson eyes flashed with sadness.

"We wait." She replied simply, turning to go into the woods again. Exchanging looks, the Senshi silently decided to follow. Hotaru did not follow immediately, waiting for Aaliyah to catch up. The two walked at the end of the group, until Aaliyah realized something, turning back to see Noelle still standing, staring into the sky were Sahara had previously been floating with her daughter's limp body.

"Come on, Noelle." Aaliyah called, hand on her hip. Hotaru stood beside her.

Noelle turned back, pale blue eyes shining with sadness. She offered a forced, sad smile before turning back to the sky.

'_Celestia…I'll do anything to get you back.'_

With that final thought, she turned back to her friends, and ran towards them. Aaliyah offered her a small smile and the three continued on into the woods, a gentle wind blowing around them, a warmth igniting their souls as they continued forward, confident their mission, and their destiny, would be revealed in a mere few hours.

**-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-**

**Jazz: Yes, I'm here alone. But wow, that took a lot to write! Do you even know how long this came out to be? X_X. Anyways, hope this oober long chapter was okay and that you guys review! Please take a moment to review for an update! I promise it won't be as long as this! Thanks for your support! Your feedback is the only way I can grow as a writer and a Moonie! Please and thank you.**


	10. A Millennia of Secrets

**Sailor Moon: The Shadows Arc**

**Chapter 9: A Millennia of Secrets**

**Disclaimer: Sailor. Moon. No. Own.**

**-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-**

**Jazz: Hola!**

**Layla: We're back, next chapter, blah, blah, blah…**

**Kelsey: Sorry it took so long! We're updating each story in a certain order: Bree's Third Chance, Shadows Arc, Shikon High, and New Kagome, and that's the order we shall stick to!**

**Aqua: So, we are now updating this. Hope the chap's worth it and hope you like!**

**Jazz: **_**Important Notice:**_** A few mistakes of ours have come up and we've looked them over, and decided that they end here. We can't change those chapters because we deleted them, but we can change the now and future of the story! No Japanese from this point on! Even though we prefer to use Odango and Senshi, we will use Dumpling and Scouts and other such changes. We now, this is taking place in Japan, but like the English dub, obviously, this will be featuring Japanese names, except for one character, who you'll be meeting this chapter!**

**Emma: See you guys at the end!**

**-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-**

It was far too quiet.

Noelle's crystal blue eyes glistened with tears as the little drop of salt water streamed down her cheeks. Her hands gingerly held the golden and scarlet red glaive of Sailor Celestia, caressing the staff of the glaive as if it were the most delicate of glasses. Her hands gently slid up the cool metal, fingering the sharpened tips of the blade. She'd returned to take it after leaving the clearing and feeling compelled to go back. As if the glaive had been calling out to her, beckoning her to return and take it with her, to hold for it's true master.

Aaliyah sat beside Chelsea, her hand resting on her right knee, Chelsea's overlapping it. Her face was pressed into Chelsea's shoulder, the girl's green and gray striped polo stained wet with Aaliyah's tears. The blonde's own cheeks were wet from crying, her eyes red and puffy. Naomi sat on Aaliyah's other side, too exhausted and overcome with grief to feel petty jealousy at Aaliyah and Chelsea's closeness. Tears still glistened in her eyes, unshed. But Chelsea was still different. She, unlike the other Thalia humanoids, openly showed that she blamed the Solar System Senshi, particularly Sailor Moon, for Celestia's death. Her icy cold glare stayed fixed on the normally bubbly blonde, who like everyone else, was obviously saddened by this turn of events.

Serena herself was still bawling. She had matured, yes, but she was still in her own way a cry baby, and this had brought that girl out quite well. She was holding on desperately to the person closest to her, who happened to be Seiya. To her other side was Raye, who looked deeply saddened, but her tears did not flow as much as her Princess's. Mina and Amy were still silently weeping, while Lita had her head bowed to stop from crying. Amara and Michelle sat beside Hotaru, who was also still crying, amethyst eyes constantly staring at Aaliyah, as if wishing she could somehow heal her Guardian's pain. All of their pain. Amara herself did look pained but did not let her shed tears be shown. A few streams of tears streamed down Michelle's cheeks, but her head was almost constantly bowed. Trista, sitting to Hotaru's other side, was probably in the worst shape, her deep crimson eyes reflecting nothing but despair as tears trailed down her delicate features. She looked tired, as if the short battle earlier in the day had deeply weakened her, which it more than likely had. Rini's red eyes still glistened with tears as she petted Diana, who sat curled up on her lap. Luna and Artemis sat at her feet, all three of the felines obviously as distraught at Celestia's death as the Senshi who'd witnessed it.

Kristen was leaning on Malcolm for support, still crying her eyes out. Malcolm had one hand over hers, trying to soothe her but to no avail, especially adding the fact that he too was still crying.

Princess Kakyuu was weeping silently, leaning onto Yaten for support, who wrapped a comforting arm around her. His own striking green eyes were overflowing with compassion and uncertainty, even some sadness. Taiki was in the same way, his own violet eyes downcast. He sat beside Seiya, who's indigo eyes were focused solely on Serena, one arm carefully around her shoulders as he silently comforted her. His lips were pressed into a firm line, trying to seem impassive with his features, but his eyes gave way to the sorrow in his own heart.

The large group sat at the Cherry Hill Shrine, completely silent. Chad had brought them sandwiches while Raye's grandfather but tea, but both went untouched. And both men seemed to know not to bother them, so they went out to the store to buy food and other such necessities. No one seemed to have the proper words to say at this time, but the heated weight of the silence intensified their grief.

Trista's eyes were constantly looked over to Amara's silver wrist watch, eyeing the time. Time. Despite being the Senshi of Time and Space, she herself had never felt so frustrated with the concept of time. And she'd certainly never been this impatient.

7:23.

Four hours and thirty-seven minutes move until it would be time to journey to the Realm of the Fallen, where the two fallen Queen's spirits still lingered, having to stay in contact with the world of the living far too much to cross to the next life, officially. And perhaps there, Celestia's spirit also lingered.

They could only hope…

And wait…

And wait….

**-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-**

A small girl no older than nine sat outside the window to a small home. Her delicately curled black hair was matted with dirt and dipped lightly below her shoulder blades. A small bun rested on the upper back part of her hair, tied with a soiled white bow. The tips of her bangs lightly traced her eyelids, which covered to beautiful crystalline eyes, so clear and bright they seemed like glass. She licked her tongue over her chapped lips, staring around the house to see a man with slick, dark brown hair and near black eyes framed by wide glasses leave the home, and the door shut softly behind him as he started his car and pulled away. This would be easy.

The girl slowly climbed the branches of a tree, careful not to attract the attention of any random bystanders. The branch led to a small balcony that had carelessly been left open, probably by the person who slept in the room. The small girl inched along the branch of the tree until she hit said balcony. Or rather, was close to said balcony. There was still some distance to be covered. With a grunt of effort, the girl launched herself into the air and landed on the stone balcony, kneeling down for a moment before flopping onto her side.

Her breathing became uneven and her eyes were in a daze, not focusing.

_So much sadness…so much darkness…_

She laid like that for a good several minutes before forcing herself back to her feet again, swaying a bit as she walked. She narrowed her eyes at her pain and leaned in the doorframe, taking deep breaths. Slowly, she walked into a bed room, seeming to belong to a girl. The bed, decorated with a blue comforted covered with small moons and stars, was slightly undone and wrinkled, showing evidence someone had been sleeping there earlier in the day. Clothes laid on the bed and a few were sprawled on the floor, showing that the girl who slept here was on slightly disorganized, but not too terribly. She continued on, until she reached the doorway, where the white door was slightly ajar. She pulled the knob and looked out into the hall before timidly taking a step.

Making as little sound as possible, back pressed firmly against the wall, the girl made her way own the hall, sliding her feet to minimize noise. She finally reached the stairway, and pursed in lips in thought for a moment.

She'd been watching this house for about a five days. The girl who lived in the bedroom she'd entered through had left the day before and hadn't returned. There was a young boy who also lived here with tan blonde hair and dark blue eyes. He'd left a few hours ago and had yet to return. The man who'd left didn't normally leave at this time, normally early in the morning. But for whatever reason, he'd had to run out again. Now the only person who should be in the home was the woman she took to be the mother and wife of the home. She had long blue hair and near black eyes. The girl hadn't seen the woman often, just when she returned from the store or when she'd seen glimpses of her through the windows. Just that woman, the only defense. This would be only too easy.

Slowly, she made her way down the first step. A low creak sounded. She winced, waiting to hear the woman's voice, but nothing came but the rushing running of water. She was in the kitchen, running the sink. The girl let out a light sigh before continuing down the steps. With every other footstep, a light creak was heard. But the woman did not seem to hear. She continued on into another room. She slid across the floor, keeping her back pressed firmly against the wall once again. She reached the kitchen doorway and peaked inside. As she'd suspected, the blue haired woman stood at the sink, a dish and rag in her hands as she scrubbed the plate, humming a soft tune to herself. Far to her right on the counter was a knife holder. The girl held her breath. She needed to get there first.

Hesitantly, she took a small step into the kitchen. The blue haired woman did not turn. Silently, the young girl lowered herself to her hands and knees, and crawled across the floor, keeping herself so low that her stomach grazed the ground. She crawled on, going directly behind the blue haired woman, and reached out for the counter-

"And just _what _are you doing?" The woman asked, her back to the girl, who froze, air suspended mid air.

The woman turned, her coal like eyes lashing until she saw the young, dirty girl. Her black hair was matted with filth and her skin was pale, eyes drained. And she obviously smelt as though she hadn't bathed in at least two weeks. She looked sickly to be so young.

"Oh dear, you look terrible. Here, let me help you." The woman said, grabbing the young girl's hand and helping her to her feet.

She ushered the girl to the bathroom and left, returning two moments later with some of Rini's clothes. They were simply some light blue shorts that ended just below the knee and a deep black short sleeved shirt with small rhinestones decorating it with glitter pink and silver flowers.

"Here, now just take a bath and come back to the kitchen when your finished, I'll whip you up a snack." The young girl nodded silently and waited until the blue haired woman left before undressing.

Ikuko closed the door behind her, staring at the floor. She wasn't really sure why she wanted to help this girl. Perhaps it was because she was so young, and seemed to be even homeless. Maybe she was an orphan. She seemed so…depressing. As if her whole natural being was surrounding by tragedy and despair. It was disheartening.

Still, she continued on to the kitchen, and prepared some tea and cookies for the young girl.

In all actuality, the girl was just as confused as Ikuko. This woman was showing her kindness, something she hadn't felt in weeks. At least a month, perhaps.

Sinking into the tub of hot water, she washed away the grime and filth that had collected across her body. Disgusted with the water, she stood, let the water drain, and filled it again to the brim with even warmer, steamier water before sinking in again. She closed her eyes and let her hair be drenched. The water was soothing, the silencing relaxing. Her tense muscles loosened and she felt so relaxed she slowly felt herself drifting into a deep state of unconsciousness.

_Knock knock!_

The girl jumped awake, startled by the noise. She blinked, slightly blinded by the brightness of the bathroom light. The water was now cooler, and chilled her. She stood, wrapping a towel above her chest and used another towel to dry her hair before opening the door to greet the blue haired woman, who smiled at her.

"Are you alright?" She asked, and the girl nodded but did not speak.

"Well, the tea and cookies are ready. Feel free to join me once you've dressed." Ikuko smiled again before turning and sitting at the table to wait for the girl to join her, which she did about five moments later.

The girl silently took a sip of her tea, warm green tea with a few drops of honey, and took a small bite of her cookie, eyes downcast.

"My name is Ikuko Tsukino, and you are?" Ikuko introduced. The young girl swallowed the bit of cookie in her mouth and politely dabbed at her lips for crumbs before clearing her throat.

"I am Raven Uchida. I have lived this life for eight years. I am not from this place. Allow me to thank you for showing me such kindness." Raven bowed her head. Ikuko blinked. This girl was so strange and proper to be so young. And her voice was so…dead. So void and cold. It sent a shiver down Ikuko's spine.

"Where are you from? Why were you alone? Where is your family?" Ikuko asked softly, hoping not to offend the girl. Raven frowned.

"I am not from Japan. For some reason, memory of my life before now is somewhat unclear. I have no one. My parents no longer live among us. My only living relative is my elder sister, whom of which I have been separated from for at least two weeks now, about when I arrived here." Raven explained, and Ikuko's eyes filled with sympathy.

"Who is your sister? Perhaps I could help you find her." Ikuko suggested. Raven looked away.

"Her name is Noelle Uchida. She is sixteen years of age." The raven haired girl replied, tucking a stray strand of hair behind her right ear. Ikuko's eyes brightened.

"I believe my daughter Serena knows her! Serena was actually at Noelle's sleepover this past weekend, I'll give them a call." Ikuko said, rising and turning towards the kitchen.

Raven watched her leave before silently spring from her seat. Taking a small vile she'd found in the bathroom, she held it over Ikuko's drink. Removing the cork, she murmured a few words in Thalian into the mouth of the vile before allowing two drops to fall into the tea. The mysterious liquid was clear, without scent. Clearing her throat, she called out to the woman.

"Mrs. Tsukino, actually, may I have your help in here for a moment?" She called, silently praying that the woman had yet to call Noelle. Ikuko immediately re-entered the room, no phone in sight.

"What's the matter?" Ikuko asked, looking around. Raven cleared her throat.

"I'd just rather be in your company for a few more moments." She explained, head bowed and eyes downcast for effect, and Ikuko smiled at her before taking her seat once more and sipping from her tea.

"Mrs. Tsukino…I'm sorry. Thank you again for your kindness and hospitality. I will be sure to repay you. Forgive me." Raven said, voice barely above a whisper, but Ikuko heard her all too clearly as she put the tea cup down.

That was when the room started blurring an spinning. Her head was swimming, stomach bubbling. Poisoned. She looked at Raven's sympathetic crystalline eyes before her eyes rolled back into her head, and she fell onto her right side on the floor. Her legs were still curled, bent up her backside, tips of her toes touching her thighs. Her left arm stayed close to her chest, palm resting on the floor, while her right arm was outstretched and opened, palm up. Her near black eyes closed and she began to breathe deeply, as in a sleeping trance.

Raven stared at Ikuko's still body before rising and walking into the kitchen and taking the thinnest, yet sharpest, knife. Making her way up the steps, she found the room she presumed to belong to the young pink haired girl she'd seen leave with the blonde, Serena. Taking a small backpack from a bed post, she went to the girl's closet and drawers, pulling out another six outfits and a pair of socks and black converses, she packed them away in the small bag, the knife on top, even taking with her a small blanket. Then she made her way back to Serena's bedroom and reached under the bed, pulling out a case. Opening the case, she found just what she was looking for. A violin in fantastic shining condition and a bow made of the finest of horse hairs, so thin and delicate. She'd once heard the girl Serena playing it before she left home. She wasn't very talented, so taking this instrument would be sparing anyone any more pain. She caressed the instrument before closing the case and grabbing it by the handle, making her way down the steps and to the front door. She paused, and glanced back at Ikuko before sighing and finding a pen and paper and began to write.

_Dear Mrs. Ikuko Tsukino,_

_First and foremost, I would like to thank you again for your kindness. It was very selfless of you, and I can only hope I will be able to return your kindness with a selfless of helpful act of my own._

_Please, do not try and contact Noelle. I wish to keep my sister safe from myself and the dangers I cause. I pray you respect my wishes and I hope that you and your family be blest. _

_Signed,_

_Raven Uchida_

Raven bit her lip as she left the note on the table, covering the mouth of Ikuko's mug. Strapping the book bag to her back and holding the violin case tightly in one fist, Raven left the house, but not before turning back and facing the front of the Tsukino home. Pressing her palms together, she bowed her head and closed her eyes, whispering to her fingers. After a few seconds of chanting, she picked up her new belongings and headed off.

**-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-**

9:38 pm.

Still another two hours and twenty-two minutes.

The room was as still and quiet as it had been two hours and fifteen minutes ago. The only difference was that the tears had been dried and now everyone was just sitting in a mourning silence. The Thalia humanoids were reminiscing to themselves on times they'd shared with Leilani, but found that often enough, they got headaches from such simple activities. But it was the only way they could think of to pass the time. Talking just didn't feel right at the moment, even if the silence was emotionally overwhelming.

All of the Scouts felt exhausted, but Rini seemed near to falling asleep, eyelids drooping. Hotaru herself felt weak and needed rest, but both young Scouts refused to sleep. Too much had to be done, and they needed to be ready.

They _had _to be.

**-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-**

"Oh my God…I can't…I just can't believe it…" Golden eyes pooled with tears as the girl with cyan blue hair bowed her head, weeping into her palms.

"This _has _to be some kind of joke. I mean, there's no way…she wouldn't." Another girl replied, crimson eyes filled with sadness and disbelief.

"Lili, are you _positive _about what you saw?" A girl with long, pink hair and aqua blue eyes asked the girl she was sitting beside, who looked exactly like her albeit her hair was blue and eyes were a warm rosy pink. The blue haired girl nodded as her mind drifted back to the dream she'd had not a half hour ago.

**Dream Flashback**

_Lili-Star's long blue pigtails tickled the back of her knees as she looked around. _

_She stood on a seemingly unfamiliar land. She was surrounded by black and rotting plants. The soil itself was black and dry. Looking down, she found herself in a gown. Her gown._

_It was long and light pink, the trails of the dresses stirring up the dry and dead soil. The upper part of the gown hugged her curves_, _sparkling. It was completely strapless, and the ruffles of the skirt twirled as she observed the dead planet. Her mouth gaped in silent horror, eyes wide._

"I know…it is tragic, isn't it?" _A familiar voice asked. Lili-Star whipped around to look at the owner of the voice. Her heart raced and her eye's widened._

"C-Celestia?"_ Her voice was unbelieving, and she blinked twice, just to make sure she wasn't hallucinating in her dreams. But the image of the Princess did not fade._

_Princess Celestia looked just as she always had. Her dress she now adorned was the dress the Princess herself had given the name 'The Divine Gown'. It was it's usual golden color, the same corset top like style with the swaying skirt, with a darkened shade of amber at the seams. The same pale yellow lace gloves that traveled up to the inside crook of her elbows, and the silver necklace gracing her neck. The diamond silver earrings that tickled her shoulders and the pearl silver bracelet. The Princess just smiled at her, lips a warm scarlet red._

"My dear Deimos, you can not fathom how happy I am to see you. It has been far too long." _Celestia murmured, approaching the girl, her shoes never touching the ground but hovering a mere few inches from it. Lili-Star approached her as well._

"Princess…we all miss you terribly. Myself, Phobos, Hydra, Himalia, and Thalassa." _Lili-Star whispered, and Celestia pressed her gloved palm to the girl's cheek. Lili-Star shivered and resisted the urge to back away from the touch. Why was the Princess so cold?_

"And I miss you all…please, pass on my wishes to them." _Lili-Star's eyes widened at that._

"Why can you not tell them, Princess? What's the matter?"_ She asked, and this time, Lili-Star, did actually pull away from the Princess's touch, no matter how disrespectful she knew it was. But she knew her question was necessary, especially when Celestia's eyes saddened. She turned away._

"I fear I may not see them, I could only come to you, Soldier of Telepathy and Clairvoyance. For you see…I no longer live among those of this world." _Celestia said softly, and Lili-Star's widened even more, tears glistening as she took another step back and raised a hand to her lips, mouth agape._

"Celestia…no…" _Were all that she was able to form. Celestia's eyes looked up to the sky, as though someone were calling to her before turning back to Lili-Star._

" 'When night falls and the full moon rises high, the beings born to protect our cosmos must align to journey to the realm of the fallen. Only then can they save the hope of the Universe.' Take warning, the enemy approaches. The Sailor Scouts of this world are our allies, do not forget that. Be safe, Deimos." _And with those final words, Celestia flew to the sky, fading into nothing more than a golden light before being engulfed into the darkness._

**End of Dream Flashback**

"That's what she told me." Lili-Star affirmed, tears running down her cheeks from her encounter wither her deceased Princess. The girl with pure white hair and glowing green eyes cast her eyes downward.

"Then that is how it shall be. When the clock strikes midnight, we shall lend our efforts in any possible way that we can to our Princess's resurrection." She said. The crimson eyed girl with long green hair nodded.

"Alayna's right. We'll need our strength for tonight." She added but Lili-Star shook her head as tears rushed anew.

"No, I can't! She…Celestia will come to me again, I know it." Lili-Star objected, fear in her eyes. Alayna looked at her, eyes full of sympathy and understanding. Mimi patted her sister's back comfortingly, giving her a soft smile. The electric blue haired girl sighed.

"I know it's tough Lili-Star, but Alayna and Chloe are right." She said soothingly, but Lili-Star simply glared at her.

"You would _never _understand, Nevaeh." She snapped, but the blue haired girl simply looked back at her evenly.

"That is no longer my name, Lili-Star. Your grief is clouding your judgment, you need to remain calm." The girl, who'd once been known as Nevaeh, reprimanded gently.

"Lili-Star, Nicole, cam down. This fighting won't get us anywhere." Chloe intervened. Mimi nodded in agreement.

"Once again, Chloe is right. Lili, I know, your scared, but what if Celestia does visit you? We need you to sleep, Lili. So you can have your strength and, if Celestia passes on another message, we'll know." Mimi soothed. Her sister calmed.

"We should sleep in shifts. Who takes the first clock shift?" Chloe asked looking around at the small group.

"I will." Lili-Star and Nicole automatically volunteered at the same time before glaring at each other.

"No, I shall take the first watch. The rest of you must save your energy and rest now." Alayna ordered, and everyone nodded.

"May the heavens light your dreams." Alayna murmured, using the familiar pasting words from Thalia, and all the other girl's exchanged the same saying before turning and heading off to bed. Alayna made her way to the balcony of their home. So much had changed in the last few weeks.

In efforts to feel as though they were truly beginning a new life on this planet, Justine and Nevaeh had changed their names respectively to Chloe and Nicole. While still not knowing their Princess's exact location, they'd integrated into society quite well. Lili-Star and Mimi, despite their age, refused to join school as of yet and said they would the next school year after they better integrated into this society, but both sisters were reaching new levels of their powers. Lili-Star was beginning to get messages in dreams and able to send them to others in the same way. Mimi, on the other hand, was learning how to use many different spells, including the power of manifestation. Something she hadn't quite mastered yet. Nicole had been learning to keep calm in order not to cause disturbances in the beautiful weather they'd been experiencing here, and she was doing very well. Tensions were arising between Nicole and Lili-Star, both who used to get along swimmingly before the stress of finding the Princess and saving the Universe befell them.

Chloe was spending much of her time at the library, and as of two days ago, she was actually an employee. Her résumé had been slightly less than truthful, but since she was of another planet she couldn't have told them everything. She did at least say she'd worked at a larger library before (True), she had an extensive knowledge of books (True) and experience handling even the most delicate of paperbacks (True), not to mention she'd taken six classes in Junior High and High School combine to learn how to make different types of books and how to handle them (True) as well as the fact she'd just arrived to Japan two weeks ago from her first year of an elite college in America (100% false). Though the last one did seem true, for she was of college age.

Alayna herself on the other hand had adjusted quite well to this life without lying. She often played her harp, which had been manifested by Lili-Star, to pass the time and wrote songs down for the other girls. She even took an art class.

With money from jewels Lili-Star had manifested, and money she herself had manifested, adding money from Chloe's check from the library (she got paid once a week for working five days) and from what Nicole made by singing (either change on the streets or actually singing for causes and such), also putting in money Mimi and Lili-Star made from babysitting and selling other manifested items or whatever other adolescent jobs they could find, they had made enough money over the past month to purchase a mansion they learned had once belonged to a reporter known as Nancy Vargas. But she'd moved under strange circumstances, and was never heard from again.

The mansion was large, white, and in the simplest sense, extremely elegant. It's roof was red, windows framed by gold. Large, would be an understatement. They'd still had yet to explore all the rooms of the house, but they mostly kept to the East Wing in most senses anyway. The back yard wasn't as large as the house, but it surely was bigger than the yard of at least nine row houses combined. There was even a previously installed pool. The inside of the house was just as amazing. Mimi believed the house once belonged to royalty of some sorts because there was a large ball room, with a large golden crystal chandelier. Of the two bathrooms they did use, one linked between two bedrooms, had a large whirlpool Jacuzzi tub, without a shower, while the other only had a shower with one sink and toilet in both. It was what one might describe as a dream house. The downside was that Alayna and Nicole were still looking for good jobs in order to help make payments, something they wanted to do as soon as possible.

Looking at the darkening sky, where the sun had long ago set beyond the horizon, Alayna sighed. The cool air caressed her skin and made her hair dance. She directed her gaze at the skies above, noting how one star was glowing brighter than any others, its light pointed directly on her. Star light. It warmed her to the very core of her soul, and she closed her eyes, feeling it reignite the life within her.

"Princess Celestia…your star…thank you."

And then the golden shimmer fell.

**-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-**

11:16.

So close…

And yet so far.

And of course, Hotaru was the first to break the tense, depressing silence.

"Momma Trista…how are we to travel to this Realm of the Fallen?"

Hotaru's voice was dry from the lack of speaking for the first few hours, and to some, it felt foreign to hear the young girl's voice again. Trista blinked as she thought for a moment.

"The same way we went to the Corridor of Dream Mirrors." She answered. Amara furrowed her brow in confusion but Michelle beat her to the question.

"And how did we do that? We went to the Corridor against or will." Michelle pointed out. And Trista looked to her.

"Yes, but we did something before that. We slept. Sleep is our key." Trista replied.

"So, when we sleep, we just let our subconscious and Queen Sahara do the rest?" Lita asked, and Trista nodded. Almost immediately, Rini fell asleep and Serena began to doze. Seiya kissed the top of her head softly, hoping inwardly she wasn't upset by his actions.

"Sleep well, Dumpling." He murmured as Serena's eyes closed. Hotaru leaned her head on Trista's shoulder and her eyelids began to droop. Kakyuu began to doze herself on Yaten's shoulder, she, like the other's who already slept, exhausted from all the shed tears.

"As exhausted as I am, I don't think I could sleep." Mina said. Lita and Raye nodded their heads in agreement. Serena murmured something in her sleep as she pressed her forehead in the crook of Seiya's neck. Seiya soothingly played with her hair.

"Then we'll have to find another way to the Realm of the Fallen." Amara said simply shrugging. Silence befell them again for some time, and Trista checked Amara's watch for the time.

11:49.

And in the blink of an eye, it changed.

11:50.

And then the room changed.

First, the room became deathly freezing. Everyone took to shivering, except those who were asleep, who seemed totally oblivious to the changes going on around them.

Then the room became surprisingly warm. A soft, haunting melody played in everyone's ears that, despite the strange circumstances, made them relax. It soothed them.

Lastly, a golden shimmering rain entered the room. The glitter aura rained down, and surrounded everyone. Almost immediately, eyes began to flutter shut, and bodies fell over in sleep.

Somehow, Lita ended up sprawled on the floor, Mina laying on top her, Amy beside Lita on one side, Raye beside her on the other. Amara's head simply fell back on the cushion, Michelle's head resting comfortably on her partner's shoulder. Taiki slouched forward until he too lay on the floor, and Yaten fell beside him, Kakyuu landing on them both. Rini, Hotaru and Serena all stayed in their same positions. Trista too fell under the power of the spell, her head hitting the cushion like Amara's had. Next to fall was Seiya, who, still conscious enough to protect Serena, held her close while he fell on his side so that he took up all of the space on the small couch, Serena's head laying on his chest. Even Diana, Luna, and Artemis fell victim to the spell, sleeping beside Rini. Chelsea fell first, pulling Aaliyah down with her. Naomi fell over onto her left side. The last to fall was Noelle, who clutched the glaive of her Princess close, before falling onto her back, hands on her chest, holding the glaive close to her, as if it were her Princess's spirit she was holding close.

And so all of the Scouts and their feline guardians drifted into a deep unconscious state, where Queen Sahara's plan would soon unfold.

**-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-**

Amy was the first to awaken in this new world. Looking around and rubbing the dazed look of sleep from her eyes, she stood. Her friends laid all around her, still unconscious. The next to awaken was Kakyuu.

"Amy? Where…are we?" The Fireball Princess asked, looking at her still sleeping friends.

"I think this is…the Realm of the Fallen." The blue haired girl replied, and she and Kakyuu both observed the world they were now in.

For it to be the Realm of the Fallen, it certainly wasn't what either of them expected it to be. Both expected darkness, for the realm to reek of sadness and despair, for their bones to chill just at the thought of being here. But it was actually…quite opposite.

For one, it definitely was not bleak or dark. The sun was shining. Yes, a sun was shining in the Realm of the Fallen. What the two girls were standing on, and their companions still resting on, was a thick field of lush grass, still wet with dew. People walked past them, showing none of the sleeping or awake Scouts any attention. There were a few tufts of weeds here and there, and many plants grew around them. But there was only one type of flower, in many different colors. Calla Lilies. Amy took a step back looking at them. The flower of death.

"This is the Realm of the Fallen? This isn't at all how I imagined it." Michelle's voice caught their attention next. The two turned to see the sea green haired woman rise, swaying a bit on her feet.

"It certainly doesn't seem like a world for those who have passed." Taiki said next, coming to his feet as well. Amy nodded in agreement.

"This world certainly is strange." She agreed, watching as Raye began to stand, followed by Yaten, then Chelsea, Malcolm, Lita, Aaliyah, Amara, Naomi, Hotaru, Trista, Kristen and then Noelle. The only one's still asleep were Seiya and Serena. Amara rolled her eyes before going over to the two.

"Come on, Kitten, we're here." She said, shaking Serena's shoulder. The young blonde stirred, but did not awake. She sighed, and murmured in her sleep.

"Seiya…don't leave…Seiya…"

Amara rolled her eyes and shook Serena again, a bit more roughly this time. Dazzling sapphire eyes flittered open and looked at Amara for a minute before looking up at Seiya. In those few seconds, many different emotions flickered in her eyes. From happiness, to sadness, to desire, and then to curiosity as she looked away from his still face and at her surroundings. While everyone followed her example and looked around at the Realm of the Fallen, Serena looked back to Seiya.

Slowly lifting her hand, she couldn't help but caress his face, fingers dancing as lightly as a butterfly's wing on his cheek, tracing her index finger down to his chin, eyes constantly flickering to his perfectly sculpted lips.

"Do you like what you see, Dumpling?" Serena almost jumped out of her skin when Seiya opened his brilliant indigo blue eyes and smirked down at her. The blonde blushed before standing, Seiya following suit.

"I was just…I was…" She stammered, searching her mind for an excuse as her cheeks flushed a light pink. Seiya chuckled.

"Funny girl…" He said softly, walking past her. Serena huffed at him, feigning anger, which soon turned to a genuine smile.

They all walked aimlessly through the park in one large group, unsure of where they were supposed to go, upset that Queen Sahara had never told them exactly where to meet her. They continued for what felt to be ten minutes until they were approached by a little girl.

She had to be about six. Her hair was the color of fire. From the roots, it was zesty orange, fading into a warm yellow and then into a bright fiery red. It somewhat reminded Sailor Moon of Galaxia's hair, just shorter and more alive, as if the hair was a living, breathing fire. Her hair divided into two short pigtails on either side of her head, that ended just below her shoulders. Her eyes were also quite strange. First, they were blue. Then green. Then red. Then amber. And then through just near every color of the rainbow. She smiled widely, revealing two large gaps in her teeth. She was wearing a bright yellow sundress, that faded to black, and blinked to pink with green polka dots, to navy blue with sky blue and white stripes, continuing going through every color and pattern without pause.

"You're the Sailor Scouts, right?" She asked, tilting her head. Serena stepped forward and kneeled down so that she was at the strange girl's eye level.

"Yes, we are. I'm Serena Tsukino. This is Raye, Amy, Mina, Lita, Amara, Michelle, Rini, Trista, Hotaru, Taiki, Yaten, Seiya, Kakyuu, Chelsea, Aaliyah, Malcolm, Kristen, Naomi, and Noelle. This is Luna, Artemis and Diana." Serena introduced, pointing to each person, and cat, in turn, feeling a bit annoyed at herself for the long introduction, but it wouldn't have been right to leave out a member of their large group. The girls smile widened.

"My name's Aiko!" She exclaimed, holding out her hand for Serena to shake. Serena couldn't help but smile at the girl as she shook her hand.

"How did you know who we are?" Raye asked, hands on her knees. Aiko just winked and turned, glancing back over her shoulder.

"Queen Sahara sent me to come to you. And I can see your power in your auras." She replied simply.

"Our auras?" Amara asked, but it was too late. Aiko was beginning to run off, and looked back at the Scouts.

"Are you guys coming, or what?" She demanded. Serena nodded and began to follow, the rest of her Scouts coming with her.

Aiko began to lead them again, with all of the Scouts following. She took them through a park, a small forest, and past clusters worth of people who didn't give them a second thought. After a few moments, Aiko brought them to a stop in front of a large cathedral. The windows were tinted black, and you couldn't see into the building. Aiko turned back and smiled at the group.

"The others are already here. All of them. But I'm sorry to say you may tell them where you are, and vice versa, but they won't remember when they wake. That is how Queen Serenity and Queen Sahara wanted it." She said, shrugging.

"Others? What others?" Yaten asked, arching a brow. Aiko turned to the Thalia humanoids and winked again without answering, and then turned back to the doors.

"Odael.*" She commanded, and the doors opened wide for her. She walked in, and the Scouts automatically felt a rush of cold air hit them. Huddling closer together, they continued in.

The pews were all empty, save the one in the front where six girls sat, and six pairs of eyes turned to them. One a crystalline color, one amber, one piercing green, one warm pink, one aqua blue, and one a dark crimson red. There was nothing said for a long moment.

"Oh my god…" The girl with golden amber eyes murmured. Her hair was a beautiful cyan blue. She had two heart shaped buns on the top of her head, little ringlets falling from each. Her skin was a glowing amber brown, and she stared at the group before her with disbelief.

"Noelle!" A young voice whined, coming from the clear eyed young girl with wavy black hair that dipped below her shoulders. She jumped from her seat and ran to Noelle, who watched as Aaliyah snatched the glaive from her hand before the young girl glomped her, arms wrapping around the elder girl's waist. Noelle looked down and couldn't help but smile.

"Hey Raven…how's my little crow?" She asked, running a hand through her little sister's hair and smiling. Crow. She called Raven that because a crow was, in a way, the opposite of a raven, but it was still a dark bird. Plus, Raven hated crows.

"So…much….pain…" She murmured, face still buried in her sister's shirt, and Noelle looked down worriedly. Raven's clear eyes were becoming clouded and darkened, until they became a deep coal black. Noelle grabbed her sister as she fell to the floor, saving her.

"Raven…no…" Noelle whispered, as tears filled her eyes once again. The amber eyed girl approached.

"She still does this, then? Takes in all of our sadness and despair. Poor girl, she's too young for this." She sympathized. Noelle sighed as she picked up her sister and carried her, arms under her shoulders and knees.

"Nevaeh…Alayna…Mimi…Lili-Star…Justine…it is nice to see you all again. And you too, Raven." Kristen said softly, hand lightly ruffling the unconscious girl's hair. Nicole blinked.

"And you, Kristen…you…you're alive!" She exclaimed, hugging the red-head. Kristen held back a whimper as she hugged her back and nodded.

"I know, and I shouldn't have lied and faked my death but I _needed _to be with Malcolm but I missed you all terribly…" Kristen rushed, and Nicole giggled.

"Kristen, we all missed you too. And I'm not Justine anymore, I'm Chloe. And that's not Nevaeh, it's Nicole." Chloe corrected.

The other girl's from the pews approached.

"Hello, you must be the Sailor Scouts of this Solar System and the Sailor Starlights. It is an honor to meet you. I am Alayna. This is Nicole, Chloe, Mimi, and Lili-Star. The unconscious young girl is Raven, and we are the remaining Sailor Scouts of the Golden Planet of Thalia." Alayna introduced. Serena introduced the others respectively. Alayna looked to Michelle and walked to her, glowing green eyes seeming dazed.

"Hello." Michelle greeted, blinking at the girl. Alayna blinked once and shook her head before getting on one knee and bowing to the girl.

"It is the highest of honors to finally meet you, Princess Neptune. I am your Guardian Angel Scout, Alayna Kawano." Alayna said softly, and Michelle blinked a bit in confusion, taken aback from this unusually polite treatment.

"It's…quite alright. Nothing very special meeting me, but it's nice meeting you as well." Michelle replied, Amara taking a small step closer to her partner. Alayna rose and smiled softly at Michelle.

"All in good time you will understand, Princess." She assured.

"You can simply call me by my name, Michelle Kaioh." Michelle answered, and Alayna nodded, eyes full of warmth before they suddenly became cold and she frowned at the girl, turning her back on her. Michelle blinked in confusion and exchanged a glance of confusion with Amara, as if to make sure she wasn't the only one who'd seen what had just happened. Turning to Lita, Nicole smiled, amber eyes shining.

"Princess Jupiter, it's nice to finally meet you." She said smiling, not going as deeply into formalities as Alayna had. Lita smiled back.

"It's Lita, and it's nice to meet you too. Justine, right?" She replied.

"I'm not Justine anymore, I'm Nicole Hayashi." She corrected gently. Chloe stepped over to Trista.

"Princess Pluto, your Guardian Angel Senshi is here to serve you." Chloe teased, long dark jade hair swinging as she mockingly bowing to Trista.

"It's Trista Meioh." Trista added.

"Chloe Shimizu."

Mimi and Lili-Star said nothing, just smiled and gave Raye a small nod. Now was not the time for reunions in their opinions. Reunions or meetings and introductions.

"Now that we've all gotten acquainted, do you mind telling us what's going on?" Chelsea asked Aiko, rearing on the young girl. It immensely delighted her to see her fellow Scouts again, but her heart was still bleeding from the loss of her Princess far too much for her mind to deter to anything else. Aiko just shook her head.

"Her majesty does not appreciate impatience. Take your seats, and all will be revealed to you soon enough. But if it so consoles you, I'll go to her and find out her plans." Aiko soothed.

"You don't already know?" Mina asked, moving forward. Aiko shook her head.

"Then why don't you just take us with you to see her?" Rini asked. Aiko shook her head again.

"I'm sorry, I can't do that. Queen Sahara will have things done her way. No exceptions." Aiko said sternly, her eyes flashing a scarlet red before she turned heel towards the front alter and disappeared. Without a trace.

"I'm not sure if I trust that girl." Raye said, and she received many nods of agreement.

"So now do we just wait?" Seiya asked, hands in his pockets. Eyes turned to Trista who, for the first time, did not seem to know the answer.

"I suppose we do." She replied, trying to seem as intimidating as she always had, but it wasn't the same. And so the group took their seats.

From left to right were Trista, Amara, Michelle, Hotaru, Rini (with Diana), Raye, Mina (with Artemis), Amy (with Luna), Lita, Serena, Seiya, Kakyuu, Taiki, and then Yaten. Across the aisle in another pew, from right to left, sat Noelle, holding a still unconscious Raven, Aaliyah, Naomi, Chelsea, Malcolm, Kristen, Chloe, Nicole, Alayna, Mimi, and Lili-Star. The two groups sat, whispering to one another, their voices soft murmurs that echoed throughout the large cathedral.

After what felt like at least half an hour, Aiko returned, one second just an empty spot, and the next, the same six year old little girl. She smiled again, the same two gaps showing.

"The Queens will see you in a moment." Aiko promised.

As if Aiko's words were magical, Raven's eyes, fluttered open. They were still an inky coal black, her breath labored as beads of sweat rolled down her forehead.

"Raven…?" Noelle asked, a hand on the girl's shoulder. Her skin was deathly cold. Raven turned to her, eyes bottomless pools of darkness threatening to pull Noelle in and drown her.

"Darkness. Without the Princess, the world will be consumed by the dark forces, never again to see the light as sin and hatred devours the few survivors until nothing remains." She said, her voice void and cold. It sent shivers down everyone's spines as the room fell silent. Even Aiko was affected by her coldness.

"That will not happen. Celestia will save us. Celestia and Serena." Nicole objected. Raven slowly turned back to her, eyes blank.

"The Shadows will _always _win." Raven growled, her voice suddenly demonic and deep and her eyes flashed a crimson red before returning to their clear color before they rolled upwards into her head and she fell backwards, landing on her sister's lap. Many eyes in the room blinked in confusion.

"What…was that?" Yaten asked, scooting backwards ever so slightly. Noelle shook her head sadly.

"She's always done this. Absorbing other's sadness, hatred and despair. She's too young, but she always feels so responsible." She murmured, running a hand through her younger sister's hair. Raven slept on and even murmured in her sleep, but did not stir.

"She is very powerful. Both a blessing and a curse, no?" All eyes turned to Aiko at the sound of her voice. Her eyes continued to flash different colors, as did her dress, but her hair remained the same in all it's fiery glory.

"She seems like such a sweet child…" Kakyuu said softly. Serena and Trista nodded in agreement.

"Welcome, Sailor Scouts."

Everyone looked around wildly, trying to find the source of the voice. At the head of the cathedral, a figure flickered into focus. It was a woman with long white hair in two buns on the top of her head, the style looking just like that of Serena's. Her eyes were a dazzling shade of blue, with full pink lips. Her dress was pure white and strapless, a bow over the chest with a yellow crescent moon in the center. The dress was long and hugged her curves, before flowing out as though it were a wide mermaid's tail.

"Queen Serenity!" Trista exclaimed. Serenity's eyes fell on the green haired woman and she smiled.

"Hello, Scouts." She greeted, but the voice was not that of Queen Serenity's, and her lips did not move.

Beside the Past Queen of the Moon, another figure came into view. It was Queen Sahara, in the same white dress she'd worn when she'd come to Serena that day and begged her to help her daughter. The Scouts of Thalia immediately bowed their heads in respect, albeit Raven of course because she was still unconscious. Alayna, Nicole, Chloe, Mimi, and Lili-Star looked on at their Queen with amazement.

As the oldest of all the Scouts, Trista rose to represent the large group.

"Queen Serenity, Queen Sahara, please tell us, what is our mission? What must we do now that Celestia has…passed?" She asked, casting a glance at the Thalian humanoids. She'd seen Chelsea's icy glare earlier, and she didn't want to make an enemy of those who they needed in their mission.

"Celestia simply left you, she's had a wonderful time visiting, isn't that right, Aiko?" Sahara asked the six year old girl, who smiled broadly.

"Yeah! Lady Celestia is really fun and very kind!" Aiko beamed proudly, gap wide.

"She has learned, and is still learning. Now it is time for you all to know the truth." Serenity explained, her eyes sad as she looked down at the Scouts she'd helped train, giving them a chance at another life, a happier one on Earth. And yet she couldn't be more proud of them and their accomplishments.

"What do you mean 'the truth'? We already know the past and much of the future, is there something else we need to know?" Raye asked, suddenly standing. Serenity and Sahara exchanged a look.

"There is much about the past that you still do not know." Sahara replied. The Scouts all exchanged confused looks, especially the Starlights and their Princess, who had not known the Scouts seemed to know all about their past. Their past from over a millennia ago.

"And I believe it is time we all learned the truth."

Everyone turned in their seats at the voice. It was Sailor Celestia, but her scout uniform was different. First, it was completely sleeveless. Nothing attached it to her collar, much like that of Sailor Super Nova's. There were transparent shoulder guards, much like the sleeves Sailor Moon had in her Super form. There was also a transparent layer now under her skirt. What had once been hearts on her front center bow, choker, and above her skirt, were now stars. The star above her skirt, unlike all the others which were yellow, was now red. Her back bow had shortened a bit and was now thinner. The gloves that had once gone reached her elbows now rested at her forearms. Her knee high red boots were now short red heels with yellow ribbons tied around her ankles. There was no longer armor on her leotard. And she no longer had the golden tiara on her forehead. In it's place was the golden symbol of the Celestial sun of Thalia. She smiled at her friends.

"It's impossible…" Noelle murmured, but Celestia's smile just turned to a mock pout.

"Aw, Noelle, not happy to see me?" She mocked, as Raven blinked her eyes open. She looked around in a daze before her eyes rested on her revived Princess.

"Celestia…?" She murmured, narrowing her eyes at the figure. Recognition dawned on her face and she leaped from her seat, running towards the Princess and warring her arms around her waist. Celestia stumbled back at the impact but smiled down at the girl before patting her hair.

"Shh, it's okay Raven. I'm right here…we all are…" She soothed, and Raven nodded, still crying. Alayna rose next, slowly approaching her Princess, followed by Noelle, Nicole, Chloe, Lili-Star, Mimi, Aaliyah, Naomi, and Chelsea. Alayna was speechless at first, preparing to bow as Raven released the Princess and turned to the others. But before she could, Celestia rushed forward and wrapped her arms around the white haired girl.

"Princess, you're…you're…alive!" Chloe exclaimed, embracing the girl. Celestia chuckled.

"All that I can be." She replied. After sharing heart felt greetings with her Scouts, she moved to the Starlights and Scouts of the Solar System. She greeted them before sitting and waiting patiently as the others took their seats.

"The moon is high." Sahara commented, looking upwards through the skylight where the moon showed directly overhead, casting it's light in over the two Queens.

"Then it is time." Serenity answered, following Sahara's gaze. She held out her right hand, and Sahara put her left hand in that of the Moon Queens, and a light came from their touch. A mass of swirling silver and gold aura's danced around their conjoined hands. Sahara raised her right hand while Serenity raised hers, both to the moon.

"_Cosmic Moon Power!"_

"_Divine Luminous Divination!"_

The room flashed white and, in a flash, the scouts found they were no longer in their civilian forms. Nor were they in the cathedral. All we're transformed, and standing before the palace of the Moon Kingdom.

"Where is this?" Fighter asked, taking in the glorious majesty of the palace.

"This is the Moon Kingdom as it was during the Silver Millennium." Serenity answered, no longer floating but now walking across the surface of the Moon as though she were human, as was Sahara.

"This is where I lived in the past, as Princess Serenity." Sailor Moon added, looking around again. Fighter looked at the girl, imagining her Dumpling living here over a millennium ago, as a Princess. It seemed almost impossible.

"It's beautiful…" Kakyuu said softly. Celestia shrugged. In the few hours she'd been dead, it was obvious she'd already been here.

"Why are we here?" Venus asked her, but Celestia looked uncertain for the first time since she'd appeared.

"I'm not sure. Queen Serenity brought me here earlier, but I know nothing more than you all. Other then where our next destination is, of course." Celestia replied, shrugging.

"Then where are we going next?" Jupiter asked, after eavesdropping on their conversation.

"I can't tell you that." Celestia winked, a smirk on her face, before she became serious and distant again, a frown on her face as sadness and confusion flooded her eyes. "But I can tell you that whatever it is, it's not good. Queen Serenity and Mother have been troubled by this ever since I arrived. My death was apparently never supposed to happen…but I don't know if that means Sailor Moon's was."

Venus and Jupiter exchanged troubled looks before all three turned back to face the two Queen's. It was strange for Celestia to refer to her death in such a nonchalant manner, and whether or not the battle should have resulted in Sailor Moon's death was another cause for worry.

"The past you know is a mirage." Sahara said simply, and Queen Serenity glared at her. Sahara shrugged while the Scouts of the Solar System exchanged strange looks.

"What do you mean it was a mirage?" Uranus asked, stepping up from her place beside her partner. Sahara looked at Serenity, who sighed before looking back at her Scouts.

"Not necessarily a mirage, but more that you have not seen all of the past, only a portion. Only what I believed you needed to see, but I now see that I was wrong for this. Princess Serenity did love Prince Endymion, there was no doubt about that. But there was another who had also stolen her heart. A Prince from an opposite kingdom. Prince Seiya, of the Solar Kingdom." Serenity explained, gesturing to Fighter, who stared back at the fallen Queen with wide eyes. Sailor Moon looked shocked, while Uranus looked as though she was going through these events in her mind, processing that everything she knew was a lie. The other Scouts were stunned to say the least, jaws were dropped, eyes wide.

"Seiya…is the Prince…of the Solar Kingdom?" Maker asked, voice trailing. Fighter shook her head as the shock slowly began to wear off.

"I can't be the Prince of anything. I am a loyal protector of my Princess, nothing more." She insisted, but Serenity offered a small smile while turning to Sahara for an explanation.

"Many things in this life, and your past life, we're never supposed to happen. Things went wrong and evil took advantage." Sahara explained.

"What exactly went wrong? What evil?" Mercury asked, but Serenity shook her head.

"That is for another time." She replied simply.

"So Seiya and I…were lovers…in a past life…?" Sailor Moon asked softly, and Serenity nodded.

"Here is a glimpse of your true lives, the glimpse you did not see." Sahara said, gesturing to the castle, and without moving, everyone in the area was witnessing a scene from centuries ago.

**The Moon Kingdom, The Silver Millennium**

_Princess Serenity stood, her small, dainty hands in the larger gloved hands of Prince Endymion. She smiled at him, and he at her as he pressed a quick kiss to her lips._

"_I will return soon enough, Princess." He vowed, kissing her again before turning and taking his leave, preparing to go back to Earth before the secret lovers were discovered. Princess Serenity would have seen him off, but she had other matters to attend you. _

_Hurriedly walking, she went to the gardens of the Moon Kingdom. There was a large statue in the center. The statue was of two lovers, separated, but with their hands all that connected them. Both even had angel wings. Sitting in between the two statues was a man wearing robes and armor similar to that of Prince Endymion, but his was the black of the darkest of nights. The pads and armors were all a dark navy blue and his cape was black, the inside of his cape a light blue, like that of the sky on a cloudless day. He smiled at the approaching Princess and took her in his arms._

"_Nice to see you again, Dumpling." He said softly, kissing the crescent moon on her forehead. Princess Serenity smiled._

"_Seiya…" She whispered his name before kissing him softly. She smiled at him again as she sat down beside Prince Seiya on the foot of the statue. They talked softly for a few moments before Seiya became troubled._

"_Seiya, what is the matter?" She asked, leaning close to him. He looked down at her and sighed, cupping her cheek with his hand._

"_I do not think we should continue this relationship, Serenity." He murmured. Serenity's eyes widened as tears began to glisten._

"_W-what?" She asked, leaning even closer to her lover. Prince Seiya sighed again._

"_Serenity, I can no longer see you. It is not right for me to do so when you are betrothed to the Prince of Earth." He explained, and Serenity shook her head._

"_It is only in an effort to end hostilities between our kingdoms! Please, Seiya, I love you!" _

"_But don't you also love him?"_

"_Seiya…please…don't leave me…" She begged, tears rolling down her cheeks._

"_I must, Serenity. I do love you, but I must be honorable. This is a hard decision to make, but it is for the best. I hope you and Endymion will be happy." He said quietly, kissing her fingertips, her palms, her tears, her eyelids, the tip of her nose, and then full on her lips. This kiss couldn't have lasted longer then six seconds. He pulled away and cast her once last parting glance, tears running down his cheeks, before turning back on his love. Forever._

"_No…please…__Seiya!__" She shouted, bawling, wrapping her arms around herself as she bowed her head, body wracking from the power of her sobs. She cried like that for quite some time, before regaining her composure enough to go back into the palace and into her room. She had to remove traces of her tears for the ball tonight._

_**The Ball**_

_Serenity smiled up at Endymion, but her smile was forced, heart still broken from her experience with _him_ earlier that day. She frowned sadly as she pressed the side of her face into his chest, desperately holding back tears,_

_That was until she saw him._

_Prince Seiya stood with Prince Yaten and Prince Taiki, close friends of his. Princes not from here._

_Prince Yaten was the Prince of the Stars, but ruling over that kingdom was so immense, it had been a responsibility split between him and Prince Taiki. Prince Seiya was wearing a dark blue tuxedo, Prince Yaten wore a golden yellow tuxedo vest under the black tuxedo jacket with a lighter shade tie. Prince Taiki was wearing a dark scarlet tuxedo with a red and white striped tie. Prince Yaten lived in a kingdom on the North Star, Polaris, of the Ursa Minor. Prince Taiki's kingdom was on the star Merak, of the Ursa Major. Serenity took one look at the trio and immediately wanted to run over and jump into Seiya's arms, but she knew she could not. Prince Yaten caught her looking and nudged Seiya in the ribs before pointing in her direction. Seiya didn't even look before glaring at Yaten and returning to a conversation with Prince Taiki. _

_The song ended, and Serenity turned away from them to hide her desire to be with Seiya. Excusing herself, she went to join her scouts. Princess Amy of Mercury was wearing a floor length deep blue dress. Beside her, Princess Lita of Jupiter was wearing a green dress similar to that of Amy's, but there was a slit up to her thigh. Princess Mina of Venus was wearing a bright yellow dress that looked much like Lita's, but there was no slit, in it's place were lightly transparent ruffles. Princess Raye of Mars was wearing a fiery red dress that trailed around her. Princess Michelle of Neptune looked elegant in her deep sea green dress as she stood beside Princess Amara of Uranus, who had decided to wear a navy blue tuxedo vest. Princess Trista of Pluto was wearing a black dress, standing with Princess Hotaru of Saturn who's dress was the deepest of violets. They smiled as their Princess approached._

"_Good evening, Princess Serenity. Are you enjoying the ball?" Princess Michelle asked, smiling at the younger girl. Serenity forced another smile to her as she smiled at the graceful princess._

"_Oh, it's Prince Seiya! Are you going to go talk to him, Serenity?" Princess Mina asked, whispering as to not be overhead. Princess Amy and herself knew of Serenity's secret relationship with the Solar Kingdom Prince for she was in a relationship of her own with Prince Yaten, while Amy was with Prince Taiki. Since they were her close friends, Serenity had also told Princess Raye, Princess Lita, and the sometimes feline sometimes human advisor, Luna, of her secret lover. Serenity wiped away a stray tear as she shook her head._

"_Seiya told me he no longer wants to see me because of my betrothal to Endymion." She answered, and Raye frowned, hugging her Princess._

"_It's alright Serenity. This is your night, enjoy it." She soothed, watching over Serenity's shoulder as Mina and Amy exchanged confused and saddened glances before making their way over to their respective suitors._

"_Are you alright, Kitten?" Serenity smiled as she released Raye. She couldn't help it, she loved Princess Amara's nickname for her. Nodding, she smiled, making this one as genuine as possible._

"_Are you sure, Serenity?" Lita asked, glancing over at Seiya once, then Endymion, then back to her Princess. _

"_I'm fine, but thank you for your concern." Serenity assured. The six remaining Princesses nodded and a new song began to play._

"_Would you like to dance with me, Princess?" Amara offered, but Serenity politely declined and instead ushered Amara to the dance floor with Michelle. Feeling a tap on her shoulder, Serenity turned and found herself face to face with those intense indigo eyes. Taking in a breath, she stared at Seiya for a moment before he offered his hand to her._

"_May I have this dance, Princess Serenity?" He asked. Serenity was taken aback by the formality but nodded, putting her smaller hand in his as he led her out to the center floor. All eyes turned to the royal's dancing the waltz, even Queen Serenity, who watched her daughter carefully. Princess Serenity looked into Seiya's eyes._

"_Why are you doing this? I thought you no longer wanted anything to do with me." She said softly, her voice turning bitter as the words flowed from her pink lips. Seiya sighed._

"_Serenity, I love you now. I have loved you and I always will. But if you are to be with another, and he makes you happy, then I won't interfere."_

"_But _you _make me happy, Seiya. I love you."_

"_And I, you. I'm sorry to hurt you like this, but I needed to be with you one last time." The song ended and Seiya released her, unshed tears glistening in his eyes. "Goodbye, Dumpling."_

_And with those final words, he made for the exit, breaking Serenity's heart twice in the same day. Mina came over with Yaten, and Amy with Taiki. _

"_Are you alright?" Amy asked, wrapping an arm around Serenity's shoulders. Mina glared after Seiya._

"_I have half a mind to blast him back to Pluto." She muttered, and Yaten chuckled, wrapping an arm around her waist. Serenity smiled them all and apologized and assured them she was alright and went to be with Endymion._

_Seiya was her past, and he made it obvious they did not have a future._

_A woman appeared feet from her Queen's throne with a bright yellow dress with a black skirt layer underneath of it. The dress resembled a sunflower. The woman's hair was long and black, trailing to her waist like rippled waves. Her eyes were a lovely shade of sapphire blue. Beside her was a man with long white hair, smooth as silk, his tuxedo was white with a golden vest. His eyes were an even lighter shade of blue that the woman's. Both had a crescent moon on the center of their foreheads._

"_Luna, Artemis, I see you have decided to come to the ball in this form." Queen Serenity commented, smiling at her advisors. Luna nodded._

"_But not for long I'm afraid, My Queen." Luna replied, and Serenity nodded._

"_Tell me, Luna, how often does my daughter go to see Prince Seiya?" Queen Serenity asked, eyes never leaving the dancing couple. Luna's eyes widened but she regained her composure._

"_For quite some time now, your Majesty. Far longer than the time she's been engaged to Prince Endymion. Nearly a year now, perhaps." Luna answered, bowing a bit as she said this. Serenity nodded._

"_And Artemis, have the people of Earth promised peace in the union of Prince Endymion and Princess Serenity?"_

"_Yes, M'Queen." _

_Serenity thought for a moment, watching as the song ended and Seiya left her daughter and the palace, and how Serenity nearly burst into tears on the spot as her friends surrounded her. She thought long and hard, watching the scene._

"_Is my daughter's happiness worth that peace? We have only just ended the war with the Shadows…" She mused aloud, but neither of the advisors answered, for the question was meant for herself, her thoughts aloud. Finally, Serenity sighed._

"_Break the engagement. I want my daughter to be happy in life, even if we must work a bit harder to maintain the peace of our worlds. She is far too important to me." Serenity, ordered, and her advisors exchanged a glance._

"_Yes your majesty." Both replied, bowing to Serenity before instantly returning to their female forms._

_Outside, Princess Serenity stood with Prince Endymion as he enveloped her in his cape and pressed his lips to hers. A tear trailed down her cheek as she thought of a certain raven haired Prince of the Kingdom of the Sun. _

_And that was when the Negaverse began their attack._

_**Back on the Moon**_

The Sailor Scouts watched in silence at the scene before them.

"The Starlights are all Princes?" Saturn asked.

"And Serenity loved Prince Seiya, but was being forced to be with Endymion?" Jupiter blinked in confusion.

"And Queen Serenity was going to let Serenity be with Seiya anyway but the Negaverse stopped that from happening…" Pandora looked shocked, yet inwardly pleased. All of the Scouts of Thalia were. They personally sympathized Seiya and preferred him for Serena, and any advancement to bring them closer together was a good thing in their eyes. Especially this.

"Yes, all of that is true. But there is more." Sahara said. And with those words, the setting changed again. They were transported to Thalia, standing in the ballroom of the Divine Palace. They were watching as Sailor Celestia and her Scouts came running in, and another Queen Sahara entered from another doorway.

_**A Millennium Ago, Divine Palace**_

"_And just where do you all think you're going?" Sahara asked. Celestia's hands tightened around her glaive._

"_The Moon Kingdom is under attack! We need to go and help them!" Celestia insisted, but Sahara shook her head._

"_No, you can not interfere." _

"_Then millions of innocent lives will be destroyed, and I refuse to stand by and sit idly and let that happen!"_

"_I'm sorry, but you must stay here. It is for everyone's benefit."_

"_And I'm sorry your majesty, but you will not contain us here while the innocent are killed." Sailor Pandora seemed to ready herself to attack her Queen, but Sahara stood her ground, and her calm eyes suddenly became a flashing golden amber. Raising her hands, she created a thin barrier of blue. _

"_Charge Evolution!" Comet attacked the barrier, careful to avoid her Queen. But the barrier protected the older woman, absorbing the attack. Sailor Comet stared on with surprised eyes._

"_This is not your battle." Sahara objected._

"_But your majesty, if we do not go, the Moon Kingdom will be destroyed by the Negaverse!" Sailor Super Nova shouted. Sahara turned to her, golden eyes narrowed._

"_Your bother and the other Empyrean Warriors have already defied my orders and launched themselves into battle. For that, they have been punished."_

"_No! Let us go! I need to help Aidan! Pulsing Star Annihilator!" She, too, attacked the Queen's barrier, which quivered under the power of the attack. The Queen winced and stepped back, but her barrier held form, absorbing the power._

"_Mother, please…let us go. I want to save Princess Serenity. She may be the one…the one _I'm _born to protect. Please, let us through!" But when her mother stood her ground, Celestia found she only had one option. "Shine Evolution!" The attack nearly disintegrated the barrier, but it was still absorbed. Sahara sighed._

"_This is not your battle. You are still recovering from the Shadow War, you all need to-"_

"_We will not rest! Queen Serenity helped us in that battle, shouldn't we help them in return?" Phobos pointed out._

"_But they were also being attacked."_

"_That doesn't mean anything! Let us through!" Sailor Deimos shouted._

_Queen Sahara didn't reply for a long moment, she just looked at her daughter and her large team of Scouts, before bowing her head, and sighing,_

"_I'm sorry."_

"_W-what?" Celestia blinked in confusion._

_But again, she did not answer. She raised her hand, the Divine Jewel in her hand._

"_Vasaleiji eil Shol!"_

_The Scouts soon found themselves unable to move or see, the world was engulfed in darkness as they froze in place._

"_Maer!"_

_The darkness did not disappear, but the Scouts all stopped struggling to move, as the slept in a deep unconscious state in place._

"_Eindrol Vaelaesi!"_

_And right before her eyes, Queen Sahara's daughter and Scouts all began to shrink, their clothes returning to their civilian form clothing they'd wore before this transformation. Their faces changed, until they looked to be about ten. Sahara chanted the spell again, and the girl's continued to de-age until they were about two years old before her, paralyzed there, in an unconscious sleep. Sahara lowered the Divine Crystal and wrapped it around a chain on her neck, right above the Celestial Jewel. Closing her eyes, she raised both her hands again. She chanted softly to herself, using the best of her power until she felt weak, falling to her knees, and opened her eyes._

_All of the Scouts were now frozen in golden crystals, eyes still closed. And they'd stay that way now, for at least a millennia or until she awakened them. Rising on unstable legs, Sahara approached the crystal her daughter was frozen in, and kissed the cool surface, her palm softly laying on the cold crystal._

"_I'm sorry…but you'll understand this someday. I just wish you would remember the life you had." And with those words, she turned and left the crystals, never to be touched again for another millennium._

_**End.**_

Celestia fell down to her knees in disbelief, unable to take her eyes off of where that scene had passed before her eyes.

"You…we…lived over a…millennia ago?" She asked, her voice reflecting her disbelief as she stared at her mother, who nodded.

"I knew you would be needed when the Moon Princess was reborn. I couldn't let you all fight with the Negaverse, or you would have died." Sahara explained, but Celestia wouldn't listen. She turned to the Solar system Scouts and Starlights, but some of them did not seem confused or surprised at this new information.

"Did you…know?" Eclipse asked, eyes on Eternal Sailor Moon, who turned away before nodding.

"We did. Please, do not blame them, I suggested we keep it a secret." Sailor Pluto added. Comet turned to her and glared.

"You bitch! You've all been lying to us!" Comet looked about to charge at the girl but Titania, Pandora and Hydra held her back. Sailor Himalia shook her head.

"Keep your temper, Comet. This won't help us, or change what has passed. What we want to know," She turned to the two Queens. "Is how to get Celestia back."

As if her words were a trigger, Celestia fell to her knees with a scream of pain, clutching her skull. She curled into a small ball, tears streaming down her cheeks as she continued to whimper and scream.

"Princess!" The Thalian Scouts rushed over to the girl. Eclipse comfortingly wrapped an arm around her friend. Pandora turned to the fallen Queens with saddened eyes.

"Please, save her! _Do _something!" She urged, tears pooling in her own eyes. Thalassa stepped up and stood by her side.

"You must save her, we have only just been reunited. Do not separate us again so soon." She begged, falling to her knees, tears streaming down her cheeks, something unbefitting of the graceful and strong scout.

"Only _you _can save her. You must combine your power to save her." Queen Serenity explained. The Scouts exchanged confused looks.

"Not this again…" Healer mumbled under her breath, and Kakyuu elbowed her in the ribs. Now was not the time.

"And this will save her? All of our power combined?" Sailor Black Hole asked, clear eyes actually hopeful. Queen Sahara nodded and the Scouts all formed a circle, even Princess Kakyuu. The Starlights had insisted she didn't but the Princess was determined to help save Celestia. They formed a circle around the still weeping Princess, who was fading in and out of sight before them. The stood hand in hand, eyes to the skylight above with the moonlight falling on the fading Princess.

"_Thalassa Angelic Power!"_

"_Black Hole Angelic Power!"_

"_Himalia Angelic Power!"_

"_Hydra Angelic Power!"_

"_Phobos Angelic Power!"_

"_Deimos Angelic Power!"_

"_Super Nova Angelic Power!"_

"_Flame Warrior!"_

"_Comet Angelic Power!"_

"_Pandora Angelic Power!"_

"_Titania Angelic Power!"_

"_Eclipse Angelic Power!"_

"_Healer Star Power!"_

"_Maker Star Power!"_

"_Fighter Star Power!"_

"_Uranus Crystal Power!"_

"_Neptune Crystal Power!" _

"_Saturn Crystal Power!"_

"_Pluto Crystal Power!"_

"_Mercury Crystal Power!"_

"_Mars Crystal Power!"_

"_Jupiter Crystal Power!"_

"_Venus Crystal Power!"_

_"Moon Cosmic Dream Action!"_

"_Moon Eternal Power!"_

Princess Kakyuu said nothing, but instead, she lent her power in spirit.

Streams of lights shot into the sky, through the skylight and towards the moon, before crashing down on Celestia's body again. She writhed in pain for a moment, heart clutched to her chest as she screamed out. After a moment, the lights faded to nothingness. The Princess's body laid limply on the floor for a moment, before she struggled to rise, supporting herself with her knees and left hand. She placed her right hand over her heart before smiling at her friends.

"My heart…it's beating again…" She smiled, as Eclipse and Black Hole rushed over and helped her to her feet. She leaned on Eclipse for support as her legs wobbled unsteadily under her weight. Himalia rushed to her Princess and hugged her.

"And it has the most beautiful rhythm." She said softly, causing both her and Celestia to chuckle at the memories brought back to them at that moment.

Then the room froze again.

All of the Scouts from Thalia, including Celestia, screamed out in pain as they clutched their skulls tightly and fell to their knees. Nails dug into skulls as high pitched screams of pain echoed through the large cathedral. The Scouts from the Milky Way Galaxy looked on with sympathy and confusion.

"What's happening to them?" Sailor Venus asked, kneeling beside Sailor Deimos as the blue haired Scout continued to scream. Queen Serenity looked saddened by the scene.

"They are regaining their memories from over a millennia ago. It is painful, but it's necessary for them to do this, or they will never know the full extent of their power." Queen Sahara explained softly, sympathizing eyes on her daughter, who had one hand on her skull and the other supporting her from falling.

"And we can't help them?" Sailor Moon asked, hand clutching her winged, heart shaped brooch.

Queen Serenity shook her head sadly, and the room fell silent as the Milky Way Galaxy Scouts and the Starlights, with their Princess, gently tried to comfort the screaming Scouts of the Golden Planet, knowing it was in vain but finding the screams of pain unbearable.

After a few moments, the screams died down until they were just whimpers, and then silence as the Scouts gasped for breath, using the others to help them to their feet. Sailor Moon allowed Celestia to lean on her as she stood, panting heavily.

"Anything else we should know?" Celestia asked sarcastically. Sahara narrowed her eyes as she nodded.

"Over this past millennia, you were not just reborn in this time. You, Sailor Scouts of the Milky Way Galaxy and Sailor Starlights of Kinmoku, were reborn once before, about five hundred years ago." She explained. This looked like news even to Sailor Pluto.

"Then why do I not recall this other past life?" She asked, hands tightening around the neck of the Garnet Rod. Queen Serenity sighed.

"That is because you were all killed before your powers could be awakened. Even you, Sailor Pluto, were only known as Trista Meioh, the name you have kept for a millennia." With a wave of their hands, the two Queen's changed the scene once more. It was Earth, about five hundred years ago.

**Tokyo, 500 Years Ago**

_A group of five young girls sat giggling in a small room, fussing over a center girl with blonde hair in two, dumpling shaped buns on either side of her head. _

"_Oh, Serena, come on, tell us, who's your date?" A blonde haired girl asked with dancing blue eyes asked her friend, who shook her head._

"_Come on, you can't keep it a secret forever!" A brunette with a high ponytail and jade green eyes insisted. _

"_Lita's right, you'll have to spill!" A raven haired girl added, violet grey eyes flashing with excitement and curiosity._

"_Come on Raye, Serena doesn't _have _to tell us." A girl with short blue hair and blue eyes pointed out gently. The first blonde turned._

"_Thank you, Amy." She said, glaring at Raye, who frowned deeply. Lita sighed._

"_Well, I guess we'll see you later then, Serena. Come on, Mina, Amy, Raye, before things get even worse." Lita said, grapping Mina by the arm so she'd stop trying to make sure Serena looked nice. Serena thanked the girl and nodded before turning to take her leave._

"_Oh, Serena!" Serena turned back to Raye. "Don't have _too _much fun, okay?" Serena stuck her tongue out before closing the door behind her as Raye and Mina chuckled._

_Serena walked from the small home before breaking out into a small run, hurrying around a street corner. Looking over her shoulder to make sure none of her friends had followed, she continued on. Soon, she saw a dark shadow, the outline of a familiar figure that made her smile. The figure turned and indigo blue eyes lit up at the sight of the blonde girl._

"_Seiya…" Serena smiled as she approached the girl and wrapped her arms around her. Seiya kissed the crown of Serena's head._

"_It's nice to see you too, Dumpling." The, obviously, female Seiya said softly. Serena's smile widened at the nickname her lover had given her as she sighed in contentment. Looking up at Seiya she pressed a kiss to the other woman's lips before pulling away and taking Seiya's hand as they walked the streets._

"_So, what are we to do now?" She asked, looking up at the sky. Seiya smiled._

"_I was thinking a simple moonlit picnic on the hillside. You know, that way we won't be seen." Seiya replied, shrugging, and Serena paused, frowning._

"_You know it's not like that, Seiya. You know how the girls are. They only know you as a friend we pass on the streets, not as the woman I love. I promise you, I'll tell them when we're ready." Serena said softly. Seiya paused and turned to the shorter girl, taking Serena's hands in her own, as she pressed her forehead to the blonde's._

"_What if we are ready? I am."_

"_But I don't think I am."_

"_Then if you need to wait, I want to wait forever by your side. As long as your with me, Dumpling."_

"_Seiya…you know I love you, right?" Serena asked, eyes shining and cheeks lightly flushed. Seiya chuckled, hands on Serena's waist as she pulled her closer._

"_And I love you, more than you could ever know." She murmured, kissing Serena full on the mouth, and Serena returned the kiss with such a fire, both girls felt immense power coursing through their veins._

_At that moment, they believed they could do anything. It felt as though they could fly to the moon, dance on water, and kiss the stars. The night sky cloaked them in protection, the moon bathed them in the gentlest of lights, their hearts beating the same beautiful song. They opened their eyes as memories returned, memories of another life over five hundred years ago. They smiled at each other, as a love from centuries ago resurfaced in their hearts-_

_And that was when the sword appeared, glinting in the moonlight. It passed through Seiya's body easily, and then Serena's. Sliding the sword out, the two bodies fell to the ground with a thud. The lovers lay lifelessly in a growing pool of blood, Seiya's hand still tightly holding on to Serena's. Their killer chuckled._

"_Two down, eleven more to go." A dark voice said, before disappearing all together, leaving the two dead lovers in the street, bathing in the light of the full moon._

_**End**_

"Oh my God…" Eternal Sailor Moon's voice was hoarse, and she nearly passed out, but ended up simply stumbling backwards before she was caught by the shoulders by Sailor Mars.

"Who was that? That killed them…us?" Sailor Saturn asked, holding the Silence Glaive close. That…enemy could have been talking about the other eleven Scouts, including the Starlights and Tuxedo Mask. Queen Serenity shook her head.

"That is for another time, I'm afraid. That enemy is not our concern as of now." She replied.

"That enemy only seemed to have made a mistake while interfering with Queen Serenity's plans." Queen Sahara added, sending a quick look at the white haired queen.

"What about Darien? Where was he in that lifetime?" Sailor Mars asked, sending a worried glance to her Princess.

"Darien had not yet been reunited with Serena. Strangely, we believe he would have met her the next day, had you all not been murdered that night." Queen Sahara explained. Serenity nodded sadly, eyes on Sailor Moon as the girl stared straight ahead, her eyes wide and her face filled with the disbelief echoing deep within her.

"Your Majesty's, if you do not mind me asking, what is the point of this? How can it help us in our battle against the Shadows?" Guardian Phoenix asked, stepping up from the crowd. Sailor Super Nova took her place beside him.

"Phoenix is right. Yes, this is all very useful and important information to our mission, but we also need help in defeating the Shadows." She added on, scarlet eyes flashing. Sahara and Serenity exchanged a look and nodded, and next thing they knew, the Scouts and the one Empyrean Warrior were transported back to the cathedral.

"Your powers aren't strong enough right now, but that can be changed, if your ready." Queen Sahara said. The Scouts and Starlights all exchanged looks before Sailor Star Fighter, Eternal Sailor Moon, and Sailor Celestia all stepped forward as representatives of their respective groups.

"We're ready." The three said at once. Serenity smiled at Celestia.

"You, Divine Princess, received your advancement with your death. There isn't much more power you can receive, but there is always room for improvement." She said softly, smiling at the young Princess, who smiled back with a nod.

"We must do this quickly, before the full moon wavers." Sahara said. That was when Neptune realized something.

"But that's impossible. When we awoke here, we saw the sun." She pointed out, Saturn nodding in agreement.

"Here in the Realm of the Fallen, both the Sun and the Moon shine in our skies at the same time. It represents the balance of our worlds, the Solar and the Lunar Kingdoms. That is why you can see the light of the Sun through the opposite skylight." Queen Serenity explained.

"Opposite skylight?" Sailor Star Maker asked, confusion written across her face. Queen Serenity pointed at the ceiling, towards the large doors where the Scouts had entered.

All eyes followed her finger to where it was pointing at another wide skylight, seemingly made of small crystals. Through the skylight was the sun, shining brightly, so close they could make out small imperfections on the large star. It was so bright, and Sailor Star Fighter seemed as though her eyes would not turn away from it. Her true home.

"It's time." Queen Sahara said, and all eyes turned back to her. They nodded, closing their eyes and preparing for whatever it was the two Fallen Queens had in store for them. The two Queen's held each other's hands once again, eyes pointed to the sky.

"_Divine Luminous Divination!"_

"_Cosmic Moon Power!"_

Then the golden and silver shimmer began to fall, followed by the silent comfort of darkness.

**-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-**

"Star Fighter!"

Fighter turned back at the sound of the voice as she saw the sky blue eyes of Queen Serenity. The eyes reminded her of Serena very much so, she could see the young girl when looking at the deceased Queen. Shaking her head to clear her mind, she flew towards the Queen.

Where were they?

It looked as if they were floating in space, surrounded by stars and beams of light. They were beautiful, and Fighter couldn't help but stare at them before turning her attention back to Serenity, who frowned.

"What is it, Queen Serenity?" She asked, feeling light and weightless as she floated through the depths of space. The Past Moon Queen's eyes became clouded as she frowned, and Fighter tensed, feeling that Serenity came to bare bad news. But why single her out?

"You, Fighter, were once the Prince of the Solar Kingdom. In your next lifetime, you were reborn a female, so it was predicted you would become the Princess of the Solar Kingdom. But in this lifetime, because of your strange 'ability' to be a male on this planet but a female on your home planet, that is harder to determine."

"What do you mean?" Fighter's eyes widened. What did this mean?

"I mean…there is a chance that you are neither Prince or Princess of the Solar Kingdom in this lifetime."

Fighter felt her blood freeze. Just as she was coming to accept that, in a past life, she'd been a Prince…this was dropped on her shoulders.

Of course, it could never be that easy. It hadn't been easy in her past lives either. Especially when it came to Serena. In both her past lives, she'd had Serena. Serena had actually been _her_ Dumpling. And she could have been again in this lifetime. And it seemed as though those possibilities were being ripped right from under her in a matter of seconds.

"The power of the Solar Kingdom can only be ignited by you. Your heart. Awaken your power, Fighter." And with those words, Serenity faded into the darkness of space.

"Wait, Queen Serenity! How do I awaken this power? Serenity!" But the Queen was gone, leaving Fighter floating alone in the depths of space. She felt tears pool in her eyes but she blinked them away, not sure how to feel. How was she to awaken this power? Why had she lost it? What did this mean for her, for Serena, for Kakyuu, for the Solar Kingdom?

And then she fell, the stars disappearing, and she crashed back into the world of reality, back into the heart of Tokyo, and onto a couch in the Cherry Hill Temple, Serena's head resting on his chest as Seiya returned.

**-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-**

**Jazz: And…done!**

**Layla: So, for all you readers who've been waiting for this, this is where the Seiya & Serena action begins!**

**Aqua: So stay tuned! Next chapter will have a bit of romance for a few couples, some you may or may not be expecting it from!**

**Emma: Hope you guys liked the chapter, keep reading, stay tuned for more, all of that.**

**Kelsey: Lots of love to all our readers and reviewers!**

**Jazz: Hope you enjoyed, and don't forget to review!**


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